Definition

Noun: 1. A volunteer military force organized for local defense: A "home guard" is a military unit composed of volunteers. Its primary purpose is to defend the home country, region, or specific locality, especially when the regular, professional army is deployed to fight in a different theater of war.

Usage

The term is used to describe a specific type of reserve or auxiliary defense force. It typically implies a non-professional, part-time force raised during a time of national emergency or war. * It functions as a countable noun, often preceded by "the" when referring to a specific national organization (e.g., the Home Guard). * It can also be used in a more general sense (e.g., a home guard).

Examples

• Noun:
  • During the war, the Home Guard was responsible for patrolling the coastline and protecting key installations.
  • With the army deployed overseas, the government called for volunteers to join the local home guard.
  • The museum has an exhibit on the equipment used by the Home Guard in the 1940s.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term is most famously associated with the British Home Guard, originally called the Local Defence Volunteers, which was active during World War II to defend against potential invasion.
• Conceptual Use: It can be used metaphorically to describe any group organized for local protection or defense of a principle.
  • The neighborhood watch acted as a kind of home guard against petty crime.

Variants and Related Words

• Home defence (noun): The act or policy of defending one's own country. (Note: This is a related concept, not a variant of "home guard").
• Militia (noun): A military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency. (This is a close synonym, though "militia" can have broader or different legal connotations).
• Reserves (noun): Military forces withheld from action for later use; supplementary troops.
• Auxiliary (noun/adj): A person or group providing supplementary or additional help and support.

Synonyms

• Militia
• Defence volunteers
• Territorial force/army (in some historical contexts)
• Civil defence force

Noun

1. a volunteer unit formed to defend the homeland while the regular army is fighting elsewhere