Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Of or relating to a rear guard.
- adj. Of or relating to economic, political, or social resistance: mounting a rear-guard effort to prevent tax increases.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Part of an army detached during a march for the protection of the rear, especially in retreating when the attacks of a pursuing enemy are feared.
Wiktionary
- adj. of, or relating to a rearguard
- adj. of, or relating to resistance in politics etc
Examples
“But is the software giant fighting a rear-guard action against an inevitable future?”
“You must realize, however, that glibertarians are playing a rear-guard action at deflection.”
“Once in Bactria, he would lead a rear-guard effort to retake the empire.”
“And (delightfully) the same sentiment which could be so serious in a rear-guard action could also take itself as lightly as all happy loves often do.”
“Virginia captain Thomas Bullitt prevented utter catastrophe with a stubborn rear-guard action.”
“President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency is fighting a rear-guard action to accomplish via regulation what voters rejected via Congress: ruinously expensive restrictions on carbon emissions in the name of fighting "global warming.”
The Wall Street Journal: Australia's Carbon Warning for Obama
“Syria has been waging a rear-guard action against the tribunal, accusing it of fabricated testimony.”
Voice of America: Lebanon Faces Deepening Political Crisis Over International Tribunal
“The group later mounted a rear-guard campaign against the multi-national force that deployed after Israel withdrew.”
Voice of America: Iranian Money Amplifies Influence in Lebanon
“We must have been well in the path of the trans-Pacific steamships when the typhoon moderated, and here, to the surprise of the hunters, we found ourselves in the midst of seals — a second herd, or sort of rear-guard, they declared, and a most unusual thing.”
“They've been driven out of power but continue a rear-guard battle against the new order.”
The Wall Street Journal: Egypt and the Fruits of the Pharaohs
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