Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A conservative, often reactionary element of a class, society, or political group.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A conservative, reactionary faction that is unwilling to accept new ideas
  • noun Collectively, the members of a team who have been a long time in a place.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a faction that is unwilling to accept new ideas

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Translation of French Vieille Garde, the imperial guard of Napoleon I.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

old + guard

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Examples

  • This keynote seemed made for the old guard - it was all about the hardware - appliances.

    Forbes.com: News John Furrier 2011

  • A few new players are trying to break into the business, but the old guard -

    NYT > Home Page 2010

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