Vanguard

Noun

 * 1) The leading units at the front of an army or fleet.
 * 2) (by extension) The persons at the forefront of any group or movement.

Thesaurus
advance guard, airhead, ancestor, announcer, antecedent, armed guard, avant-garde, bank guard, battle line, beachhead, bellwether, bridgehead, buccinator, bushwhacker, coast guard, cordon, cordon sanitaire, explorer, farthest outpost, first line, forebear, forefront, foregoer, forerunner, front, front line, front rank, front runner, front-runner, frontiersman, fugleman, garrison, goalie, goalkeeper, goaltender, groundbreaker, guard, guarder, guardsman, guide, harbinger, herald, inlying picket, innovation, innovator, jailer, latest fad, latest fashion, latest wrinkle, lead runner, leader, line, messenger, new look, newfangled device, novelty, outguard, outpost, pathfinder, picket, pioneer, point, precedent, precursor, predecessor, railhead, rear guard, scout, security guard, spearhead, stormy petrel, the in thing, the last word, the latest thing, trailblazer, trailbreaker, train guard, van, vaunt-courier, voortrekker, warder

Etymology

 * Earlier forms vandgard and (a)vantgard, derived from old French, avan(t)garde from avant (before) + garde (guard)

Translations

 * Crimean Tatar: avangard
 * Czech: předvoj
 * Dutch:
 * Finnish:
 * French:


 * German:
 * Norwegian:
 * Russian:
 * Scottish Gaelic:


 * Crimean Tatar: avangard
 * Czech: předvoj
 * Dutch:
 * Finnish: etujoukko, edelläkävijät, suunnannäyttäjät
 * French:


 * German: ,
 * Norwegian: ,
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian:
 * Scottish Gaelic:

Synonyms

 * advance guard

Antonyms

 * rearguard