Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A detachment of troops that protects the rear of a military force.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Lieutenants Armstrong and Reed formed the rear guard.
The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876
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After all, the providential appearance of the fog saved a part of our army from being captured, and certainly myself among others who formed the rear guard.
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The third Infantry brigade with its Mountain battery and one or two troops of Cavalry formed the rear guard.
Forty-one years in India From Subaltern To Commander-In-Chief
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Horsan the Dane, with his company, formed the rear guard.
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And now it was the division Loison which formed the rear guard.
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"General Heron reports that the two battalions under your command fought with extraordinary steadiness, and repulsed all the attempts of his cavalry to break them; and finally succeeded in drawing off to the mountains, with the exception of the two companies that formed the rear guard.
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