old guards

noun

plural of old guard
as in establishments
the usually older members of an organization (such as a political party) who do not want or like change She's not popular with the old guard.

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for old guards
  1. establishments
  2. bigs
Noun
  • Eight months after legalization, there is still not a single active VGT machine in Chicago, even though 311 establishments have applied for and 42 have received state licenses.
    — Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Roaches, rodent droppings and food stored at unsafe temperatures were found at Tarrant County food establishments during the latest round of health inspections, according to the inspection report.
    — Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of establishments
Noun
  • That is a remarkable incentive, if not catnip, to send Condon to the bigs.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Pick-and-rolls at the top of the floor with bigs, pick-and-rolls with smalls.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of bigs
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

old guard
old guards
old hand
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Old guards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/old%20guards. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All