Word.ws English Dictionary

change of the guard

change of the guard is the alternative form of changing of the guard.

Meaning of changing of the guard

Noun

changing of the guard (plural changings of the guard)

  1. (usually preceded by the) A ceremony during which the soldiers or other officials guarding a major government building or state residence, especially Buckingham Palace in England, are replaced by a new shift.
    Synonyms:
    guard mounting
  2. (broadly, figuratively) Any situation in which an individual or group charged with a task or responsibilities in an organization is replaced by another individual or group.
    • All the signs are right this time / You don't have to try so very hard / If you live in this world / You're feelin' the change of the guard1972, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, “Change of the Guard”, performed by Steely Dan

Forms of change of the guard

pluralchanges of the guard

Questions about change of the guard

What is change of the guard the alternative form of?
Change of the guard is the alternative form of changing of the guard.

Words near change of the guard in the dictionary

  1. change of scene
  2. change of scenery
  3. change of state
  4. change of tack
  5. change of tact
  6. change of the guard
  7. change of tune
  8. change of venue
  9. change one's battery
  10. change one's mind
  11. change one's spots

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: change of the guard (page history and authors); changing of the guard (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “change of the guard.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/change_of_the_guard. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.