rear guard

noun

Definition of rear guardnext
as in firing squad

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of rear guard Optional extras include alarm/geolocation, a retractable rear guard rail, a canopy, and custom setups for family or cargo. — New Atlas, 6 July 2026 Any suggestions that Lionel Messi’s presence at the 2026 World Cup might be diminished crumbled on Tuesday night with Algeria’s rear guard. — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 17 June 2026 The north was expected to be America’s rear guard, a place where values like democracy and women’s rights might have taken hold. — Azam Ahmed, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024 And assassins from a coalition of all the local indigenous tribes — out for blood over the murder of Jimmy the Creek, one of their own, last episode — slit the throats of Ming’s rear guard. — Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024 General Fran Sigel was assigned as rear guard for forces moving through town. — Randy McCrory, Arkansas Online, 3 Aug. 2023 By the 1990s, NHTSA had finally adopted a regulation requiring tougher rear guards. — A.c. Thompson, ProPublica, 13 June 2023 The capelin rear guard, sensing danger, rose off the bottom in a great fleeing cloud. — Robert Kunzig, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 Indeed, Dnipropetrovsk has been a key rear guard for the Ukrainian military and National Guard. — Taras Kuzio, Foreign Affairs, 25 Jan. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rear guard
  1. firing squad
  2. patrol
  3. outpost
  4. watch
  5. picket
  6. sentry
Noun
  • Failed execution led to firing squad law Creech and Pizzuto are Idaho’s longest-serving death row prisoners.
    — Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 10 July 2026
  • The retrofit allows the prison to conduct executions by both firing squad and lethal injection.
    — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of firing squad
Noun
  • While the haunting serial murders are the mainstay within the show, Kay also smartly addresses resentments in the police department between patrol cops and detectives and even officers who turn on each other.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The prosecution and defense said that while on patrol, Parks told a crowd of people outside Wylie Liquors Bar to leave the area.
    — Renee Anderson, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of patrol
Noun
  • Al Sharaa reached an agreement with Moscow just days ago over two key Russian outposts in Syria; the Mediterranean coastal bases will be transferred to Syrian control.
    — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Radical settlers have established hundreds of additional outposts without government authorization, while still enjoying protection from the Israeli military and often other public services.
    — Joseph Krauss, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of outpost
Noun
  • There is no additional preseason game check added because one player takes 50 snaps while a starter watches from the sideline.
    — Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The watch is for Northern Craven, Southern Craven and Inland Onslow as well as Pitt, Greene, Beaufort, Duplin, Lenoir, Jones and Pamlico counties.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of watch
Noun
  • Wednesday’s picket comes as legislators returned to session earlier this week.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Whether in rural towns or sprawling cities, activists who can mobilize citizens to flood council meetings and hold picket signs are finding success.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 16 July 2026
Definition of picket
Noun
  • In humans, traits such as neuroticism and recklessness appear to have some evolutionary basis—emerging perhaps to provide our species with sentries who alerted us to threats, and with explorers who led the way to new food sources.
    — Vann R. Newkirk II, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
  • From Newt's family making first contact with a Facehugger to a wonderfully tense sentry gun sequence, Cameron's extra footage enhances a classic.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of sentry

Browse Nearby Words

rear ends
rear guard
rear guards
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Cite this Entry

“Rear guard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rear%20guard. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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