Coast Guard
Americannoun
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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.
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(lowercase) any similar organization for aiding navigation, preventing smuggling, etc.
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Also called coastguardsman. (lowercase) a member of any such organization.
Etymology
Origin of Coast Guard
First recorded in 1825–35
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.
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
Coast Guard images showed the 67-year-old man had carved “SOS” into what looked like charred ground before being rescued by helicopter.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
The Irish Coast Guard received a call from a member of the public at 12:30 BST.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Coast Guard and the intelligence community, the department said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
Take this message, intercepted by the Coast Guard on Sunday, January 30, 1926, at 6:30 a.m….
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
