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afterguard

American  
[af-ter-gahrd, ahf-] / ˈæf tərˌgɑrd, ˈɑf- /

noun

Nautical Slang.

  1. the owner of a yacht or his guests.

  2. the officers quartered in the stern of a vessel.

afterguard British  
/ ˈɑːftəˌɡɑːd /

noun

  1. a sailor or group of sailors stationed on the poop to attend to the aft sails

  2. the members of the crew responsible for strategic decisions about the sailing and navigation of a boat

"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

Etymology

Origin of afterguard

First recorded in 1820–30; after + guard

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There's the afterguard which includes the helmsman who steers, a strategist and the tactician.

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2013

Three years ago he was on the afterguard of the America's Cup contender Whirlwind, built by his friend and star boat rival Landon Thorne.

From Time Magazine Archive

Then he and Enterprise and her hard-sailing afterguard finished alone.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a matter of fact, some added, there were altogether too many navymen in the challenger's afterguard.

From Time Magazine Archive

It meant visiting another ship or being visited by the afterguard of a whaler.

From The Ice Pilot by Leverage, Henry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.