a volunteer part-time military force recruited for the defence of the United Kingdom in World War II
(in various countries) a civil defence and reserve militia organization
First recorded in 1735–45
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said two of the dead were members of the home guard, a voluntary force that helps police control civil disturbances.
From Reuters ● Aug. 1, 2023
The former commander of the British battalion of the International Brigade, Tom Wintringham, approached the government with plans for a home guard.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 22, 2020
It recounted the redoubtable but often hapless fictional exploits of a home guard brigade in Walmington-on-Sea during World War Two.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2017
He said he had lied about his age to join the Soviet army at age 15 and was part of a home guard near Kharkiv in Ukraine.
From Washington Post ● May 9, 2015
By time I came along, most everybody in Banks County thought General Tweedy had been a high monkity-monk in the Army of the Confederacy instead of just in the home guard.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
After his service with the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard, Lavender appeared on stage - memorably with Dustin Hoffman in The Merchant of Venice and also in Sister Act: The Musical.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
But Widney was also tied to the Home Guard Vigilance Committee in the late 1800s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
The Cabinet Office has rejected suggestions it is looking to recruit a Dads' Army of Home Guard volunteers.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2023
The deceased include a police officer and three personnel from the Home Guard, officials said, adding that the latter are suspected to have died as they attempted to rescue the police officer.
From Reuters ● Jul. 19, 2023
He’s wearing his Home Guard armband, holding a thin pamphlet.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
