Coast Guard

noun

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.

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

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

Origin of Coast Guard

First recorded in 1825–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for coastguard

The coastguard men had provided themselves with coils of rope and some grappling-irons to fasten into the top of the cliff.
Girls New and Old|L. T. Meade
But the sudden impetus of Dick's rush decided the battle, for the coastguard tripped and, aided by his antagonist's bulk, fell.
Ande Trembath|Matthew Stanley Kemp
The other coastguard was still snoring, and that seemed strange to me, for the last few minutes had seemed like hours.
Jim Davis|John Masefield
The coastguard had considered the ship was French, with a rig altered since she was built.
Chatterbox, 1906|Various

Yet nowadays, except for the coastguard, it has been utterly unprotected and neglected.
The Invasion|William Le Queux

British Dictionary definitions for coastguard

coastguard

/ (ˈkəʊstˌɡɑːd) /

noun

a maritime force which aids shipping, saves lives at sea, prevents smuggling, etc

Also called: coastguardsman a member of such a force

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