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.
Among the professional troops taking part in this exercise are members of Norway's home guard - mostly part-time soldiers.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2024
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
But down the road, Alexander Gorbenko, 54, was unconvinced by efforts to rally the home guard.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2022
Along with his mate, Robson Greene, he enlists in the home guard.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 18, 2010
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
It is believed the area was used as a Home Guard training ground and the ordnance was buried at the end of the war.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2025
Dad's Army, a much loved series about a Home Guard platoon during the Second World War, ran on BBC One from 1968 to 1977.
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
Norway’s Home Guard, a rapid mobilization force, will also boost its presence, officials said without elaborating about the security changes.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2022
“Our government put out the call for Local Defense Volunteers—the Home Guard, as Mr. Churchill calls us—and you stepped forward. And you could not have done so at a more critical time.”
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.
