vanguard

[ van-gahrd ]
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noun
  1. the foremost division or the front part of an army; advance guard; van.

  2. the forefront in any movement, field, activity, or the like.

  1. the leaders of any intellectual or political movement.

  2. (initial capital letter)Rocketry. a U.S. three-stage, satellite-launching rocket, the first two stages powered by liquid-propellant engines and the third by a solid-propellant engine.

Origin of vanguard

1
First recorded in 1480–90; earlier van(d)gard(e), from Middle French avangarde, variant of avant-garde; see avaunt, guard

Words Nearby vanguard

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How to use vanguard in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vanguard

vanguard

/ (ˈvænˌɡɑːd) /


noun
  1. the leading division or units of a military force

  2. the leading position in any movement or field, or the people who occupy such a position: the vanguard of modern literature

Origin of vanguard

1
C15: from Old French avant-garde, from avant- fore- + garde guard

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012