Meaning of rearguard action | Babel Free

Definitions

1. An offensive action by a rearguard.
2. A desperate attempt to forestall the inevitable.
   figuratively

Equivalents

Examples

“to fight a rearguard action”

“The New English came to control Ireland — their ultimate expression was the powerful ascendancy which enjoyed exclusive political power in the country for more than a century, and which fought a dogged rearguard action against diminution of its power during the nineteenth century.”

CEFR level