home guard

noun

a volunteer force used for meeting local emergencies when the regular armed forces are needed elsewhere.

Origin of home guard

First recorded in 1735–45

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for home guard

Historical Examples of home guard

Being large and able-bodied, I enrolled with the home-guard.
Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive
Alf Burnett
This home-guard was placed under command of the king in person.
The Gorilla Hunters
R.M. Ballantyne
But we were the home-guard, and our own lives were nothing to us, if only we could save the defenceless.
The Price of the Prairie
Margaret Hill McCarter
We looked to see the militia fire and run, home-guard fashion; but these men of Pickens's were made of more soldierly stuff.
The Master of Appleby
Francis Lynde
Go thou and Hake back to the huts as fast as may be, and order the home-guard to make all needful preparation.
The Norsemen in the West
R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for home guard

Home Guard

noun

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

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