old guard

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈold ˈguard, n. [countable* usually singular;
often: the + ~]

1. Government the members of a group, as a political party, who resist change.
2. persons who have been associated with a place, organization, company, etc., for a long time.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

old guard noun

1. a group that works for a long-established or old-fashioned cause or principle
2. the conservative element in a political party or other group

Etymology: 19th Century: from Old Guard

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Old′ Guard′, 

1. World History the imperial guard created in 1804 by Napoleon: it made the last French charge at Waterloo.
2. Government (in the U.S.) the conservative element of any political party, esp. the Republican party.
3. Government (usually l.c.) the influential, established, more conservative members of any body, group, movement, etc.:
   the old guard of New York society.
• translation of French Vieille Garde