vanguard

American  

[van-gahrd] / ˈvænˌgɑrd /

noun

• vanguards
  plural

1. the foremost division or the front part of an army; advance guard; van.

2. the forefront in any movement, field, activity, or the like.

3. the leaders of any intellectual or political movement.

4. (initial capital letter) a U.S. three-stage, satellite-launching rocket, the first two stages powered by liquid-propellant engines and the third by a solid-propellant engine.

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vanguard British  

/ ˈvænˌɡɑːd /

noun

1. the leading division or units of a military force

2. the leading position in any movement or field, or the people who occupy such a position

   the vanguard of modern literature

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• vanguards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vanguard

First recorded in 1480–90; earlier van(d)gard(e), from Middle French avangarde, variant of avant-garde; see avaunt, guard

Explanation

If you are in the vanguard, you're up front. It could be that you are in the vanguard of an advancing army, or in the vanguard of any movement, trend, or occupation. Vanguard is an old variation of the French word avant-garde meaning "fore-guard" or "front guard." Vanguard and avant-garde have the same basic meaning, but avant-garde generally describes artistic endeavors, while vanguard can be more widely applied. You might talk about the vanguard of fashion on the red carpet, the vanguard of medical research at a university, or the vanguard of a political movement at a demonstration.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vanguard vanguards

Luis Enrique continues to push the team to be in the vanguard of football which is demanding, with dynamic football and relentless pressure.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Sumner was a radical Republican on the vanguard of the anti-slavery movement, and as an abolitionist, he was fighting to rewrite the Constitution using Frederick Douglass’ language.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

And so an outcast couple, immoral and ungovernable, served as the vanguard for new European settlements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

In the vanguard of the latest bull stampede is the semiconductor sector, which is due to get another lift Friday as Intel shares see a big post-earnings-report pop.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026

The vanguard spread out behind them, a slow-moving forest of lances and banners and spears.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

A progressive capitalist, he nonetheless earned the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America and has joined New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as lefty vanguards and prime think-piece fodder.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

For months, Google has preached a more cautious approach to artificial intelligence, even as rivals and the public embraced ChatGPT and other new technologies as vanguards of the future.

From New York Times ● May 11, 2023

“Fashion designers are like the vanguards of innovation, and I love his clothes,” Biden said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 14, 2023

From the beginning it was called "the experiment" and the children were referred to as "vanguards", says Mr Jensen.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2022

Our present spaceships, with their robot crews, are the harbingers, the vanguards of future human expeditions to the planets.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan