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

Members of the coast guard boarded the Sea Owl One in Swedish waters, where it was sailing under a Comoran flag they thought may have been bogus.

From BBC

The Sea Owl One had been travelling from Santos in Brazil to Primorsk on Russia's Baltic coast when it was intercepted, and was known to have transported oil between Russia and Brazil in recent years, the Swedish coast guard said.

From BBC

The coast guard boarded the tanker while it was to the south of Trelleborg, on Sweden's southern tip, on Thursday evening.

From BBC

On 6 March, the coast guard took control on similar suspicions of the Caffa, a Guinean-flagged cargo ship sailing from Casablanca in Morocco to St Petersburg.

From BBC

Japan's coast guard declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

From Barron's