Coast Guard

American  

noun

1. U.S. Military. a military service under the Department of Transportation, which in peacetime enforces maritime laws, saves lives and property at sea, and maintains aids to navigation, and which in wartime may be placed under the Navy Department to augment the navy.

2. (lowercase) any similar organization for aiding navigation, preventing smuggling, etc.

3. Also called coastguardsman.  (lowercase) a member of any such organization.

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Etymology

Origin of Coast Guard

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

The Coast Guard discovered such applications were “persistent installations,” and that “unattended access was permitted, meaning remote connections could be established without a person present at the workstation,” according to the report.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026

Coast Guard were called in, alongside the Laguna Beach Marine Safety Department, but search efforts were called off Wednesday night.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

His career has included Coast Guard search and rescue operations, maritime salvage missions, drug interdiction work, and research at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory involving autonomous systems, space technologies, and undersea platforms.

From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026

At a nearby beach resort, a high-speed Coast Guard vessel plied the waters for two people still missing after swimming in waters that churned violently as the quake struck.

From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026

The Coast Guard had no idea what to make of this, but Elizebeth did.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield