rear guard

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 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 Indeed, Dnipropetrovsk has been a key rear guard for the Ukrainian military and National Guard. Taras Kuzio, Foreign Affairs, 25 Jan. 2015 The capelin rear guard, sensing danger, rose off the bottom in a great fleeing cloud. Robert Kunzig, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 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 beefier, more robust rear guards would’ve cost an additional $127 each, according to industry estimates. A.c. Thompson, ProPublica, 13 June 2023 Striking then racing away as the Russian rear guard struggles to catch up. David Axe, Forbes, 3 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rear guard
Noun
  • Though extremely rare, the last firing squad execution occurred in Utah in 2010, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
    Kelly Puente, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
  • The South Carolina General Assembly approved a firing squad and passed a shield law bill that allowed the suppliers of the drugs to stay secret.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 June 2025
Noun
  • They were first spotted by military patrol and then handed over to the police.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 June 2025
  • Recent immigration sweeps in the Los Angeles area sparked widespread protests and small riots downtown, as people threw rocks at law enforcement and set patrol vehicles on fire, and federal agents responded with tear gas and pepper spray.
    Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 28 June 2025
Noun
  • The United States has, this year, rapidly increased its air defenses in the region and relies on the air defense capabilities of some partner countries, but smaller U.S. military outposts in Iraq and Syria remain particularly vulnerable.
    Dana Stroul, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
  • Advertisement Advertisement Thousands of U.S. service members are stationed at Al Udeid Air Base, the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command and an important American military outpost on the Persian Gulf.
    Brian Bennett, Time, 23 June 2025
Noun
  • In early February, Olivier Giroud, the French striker who plays for Los Angeles FC, had his home targeted and $500,000 worth of jewelry and watches stolen, sources said.
    Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
  • Jeannie was already glancing with impatience at her watch.
    Helen Schulman, The Atlantic, 26 June 2025
Noun
  • More pickets are planned at a handful of supermarkets.
    Pat Maio, Oc Register, 8 June 2025
  • The International Brotherhood of Teamsters helped coordinate a picket effort at nine Amazon facilities in December.
    Annie Palmer, CNBC, 15 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The tree had long been a way marker and memory maker: a site of wedding proposals and remembrance ceremonies, a sentry in photos from one-in-a-lifetime family vacations, taped to fridges across the world.
    Amelia Nierenberg, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Anduril makes everything from small drones to sentry towers used to police the U.S.-Mexico border systems to enable pilotless vehicles.
    William Hartung, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Rear guard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rear%20guard. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.

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