WordWeb Online

1. The leading units moving at the head of an army
    
2. Any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts)
   - avant-garde, van, new wave
    
3. The position of greatest importance or advancement; the leading position in any movement or field
   "the Cotswolds were once at the vanguard of woollen manufacturing in England";
   - forefront, cutting edge

Derived forms: vanguards

Type of: army unit, art movement, artistic movement, perspective, position, view

Encyclopedia: Vanguard, Saskatchewan