1. the foremost part of an advancing army or naval force
Usage: military
2. the leaders of new or advanced movements, especially in art, politics, or ideas

Examples

• The vanguards of the army crossed the river at dawn.
• Revolutionary vanguards led the charge against the enemy forces.
• Artists in the vanguards of modern art challenged traditional techniques.
• The vanguards of the civil rights movement organized peaceful protests.
• Technology companies serve as vanguards of innovation in Silicon Valley.
• These writers were vanguards of the literary renaissance.
• The vanguards pushed forward while the main army prepared to follow.