old guard

noun

variants or less commonly Old Guard

1

: the conservative and especially older members of an organization (such as a political party)

2

: a group of established prestige and influence

see also:

new guard

Examples of old guard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Critics of the deal exist among both the Chavista old guard and the pro-democracy opposition. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026

Dunk has survived the cull of the ‘old guard’ — Danny Welbeck, Joel Veltman, James Milner, Solly March and Adam Webster have either moved to other clubs, retired or been released. — Andy Naylor, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Not this old guard network, a very closed system of the same wealthy people have kind of been running the show forever. — Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Fabian Kayser, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound, 17-year-old guard from Paderborn, Germany, is scheduled to make a men’s basketball recruiting visit to Kansas this week, The Star confirmed Tuesday night. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for old guard

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• churchyard
• coastguard
• courtyard
• debarred
• diehard