Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To look or observe attentively or carefully; be closely observant.
- intransitive verb To look and wait expectantly or in anticipation.
- intransitive verb To act as a spectator; look on.
- intransitive verb To stay awake at night while serving as a guard, sentinel, or watcher.
- intransitive verb To stay alert as a devotional or religious exercise; keep vigil.
- intransitive verb To look at steadily; observe carefully or continuously.
- intransitive verb To guard, keep surveillance on, or spy on.
- intransitive verb To observe the course of mentally; keep up on or informed about.
- intransitive verb To pay close attention to or be careful about, especially with regard to propriety.
- intransitive verb To tend or take care of (a flock or children, for example). synonym: tend.
- noun The act or process of keeping awake or mentally alert, especially for the purpose of guarding.
- noun The act of observing closely or the condition of being closely observed; surveillance.
- noun A period of close observation, often in order to discover something.
- noun A person or group of people serving, especially at night, to guard or protect.
- noun The post or period of duty of a guard, sentinel, or watcher.
- noun Any of the periods into which the night is divided; a part of the night.
- noun Any of the periods of time, usually four hours, into which the day aboard ship is divided and during which a part of the crew is assigned to duty.
- noun The members of a ship's crew on duty during a specific watch.
- noun A chronometer on a ship.
- noun A period of wakefulness, especially one observed as a religious vigil.
- noun A funeral wake.
- noun A small portable timepiece, especially one worn on the wrist or carried in the pocket.
- noun A flock of nightingales.
- idiom (watch it) To be careful.
- idiom (watch (one's) step) To act or proceed with care and caution.
- idiom (watch (one's) step) To behave as is demanded, required, or appropriate.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The state of being awake; wake-fulness.
- noun A keeping awake for the purpose of attending, guarding, or preserving; attendance with out sleep; preservative or preventive vigilance; vigil.
- noun A wake. See
wake , n., 2. - noun Close, constant, observation; vigilant attention; careful, continued notice; supervision; vigilance; outlook: as, to be on the watch.
- noun A person, or number of persons, whose duty it is to watch over the persons, property, or interests of others; a watchman, or body of watchmen; a sentinel; a sentry; guard.
- noun The period of time during which one person or body of persons watch or stand sentinel, or the time from one relief of sentinels to another; hence, a division of the night, when the precautionary setting of a watch is most generally necessary; period of time; hour.
- noun Nautical:
- noun The period of time occupied by each part of a ship's crew alternately while on duty.
- noun A certain part of the officers and crew of a vessel who together attend to working her for an allotted time.
- noun Anything by which the progress of time is perceived and measured.
- noun A small portable timepiece or timekeeper that may be worn on the person, operated by power stored in a coiled spring, and capable of keeping time when held in any position. Watches were invented at Nüremberg about the be ginning of the sixteenth century, and for a long time the wearing of a watch was considered in some degree a mark or proof of gentility. Thus Malvolio remarks in anticipation of his great fortune:
- noun plural A name of the trumpetleaf, Sarracenia flava, probably alluding to the resemblance of the flowers to watches.
- noun In pottery, a trial piece of clay so placed in a kiln that it can be readily withdrawn to enable the workmen to judge by its appearance of the heat of the fire and the condition of the ware remaining in the saggars.
- noun In hawking, a company or flight, as of nightingales.
- To assign to a watch.
- To be awake; be or continue without sleep; keep vigil.
- To be attentive, circumspect, or vigilant; be closely observant; notice carefully; give heed.
- To act as a watchman, guard, sentinel, or the like; keep watch.
- To look forward with expectation; be expectant; seek opportunity; wait.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In a man-of-war, and in some merchantmen, this alternation of watches is kept up throughout the twenty-four hours; but our ship, like most merchantmen, had all hands from twelve oclock till dark, except in bad weather, when we had watch and watch.
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If a watch, it can be said, "Your friends are growing a little suspicious of you, and, after due deliberation, they have determined to a place _a watch_ upon you."
Toasts and Forms of Public Address for Those Who Wish to Say the Right Thing in the Right Way William Pittenger 1872
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When a spy was sent from Ghadames to watch the Shânbah and their approaches round the country, on the eve of my departure from that place, people went up a ruined tower, situated on a high ground, and apparently built specially for the purpose, _to watch_ the return of the spy.
Travels in the Great Desert of Sahara, in the Years of 1845 and 1846 James Richardson 1828
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~ where got real ... already said its fictional, how can be real. haben watch and dun intend to watch~ its NOT as great as its hyped while it can be some sort of a transition fun if theres nothing much else keen to go for at the moment or simply out of personal interest
www.hardwarezone.com Reviews ruhuaa 2009
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-- _A Narrative, etc. _, by W. Bligh, 1790, pp. 23, 24.] {100} [121] [ "[As] our lodgings were very miserable and confined, I had only in my power to remedy the latter defect, by putting ourselves _at watch and watch_; so that _one half_ always sat up, while the other half
The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 6 George Gordon Byron Byron 1806
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Other friend, seeing the watch for the first time, sans time display: "* knocks on watch*
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It is probable that the term watch was given to each of these divisions, from the practice of placing sentinels around the camp in time of war, or in cities, to watch or guard the camp or city, and that they were at first relieved three times in the night, but under the Romans four times.
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If you dont know the term watch the movie speechless.
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Do you really think that simply being in possession of this watch is the reason they are at Guantanamo?
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In the Lost world, a watch is almost useless, and the calendar strictly a suggestion.
'Lost': When are we? 2009
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He approached the team right away and accused them of “watch muling,” i.e. sharing a GPS device between runners.
Why Did an Unofficial Run Across the Country Turn into Running Internet Drama? Martin Fritz Huber 2023
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Ted Lasso is a great comfort watch! Such a gentle show, kind without being boring
What’s your ultimate “comfort show” or movie you always rewatch? Fennicsword 2026
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'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' review: 'Game of Thrones' prequel is a surprising comfort watch
'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' review: 'Game of Thrones' prequel is a surprising comfort watch Belen Edwards 2026
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A comfort watch isn’t defined by genre so much as by that exact instinct. It’s the movie or show you choose when you don’t want to be surprised. When you don’t have the energy to learn new characters or brace yourself for plot twists. There’s relief in knowing exactly where the story is headed, and trusting that it will land somewhere safe.
Your Winter Watchlist: Movies + Shows That Feel Like a Cozy Blanket Isabelle Eyman 2026
reesetee commented on the word watch
In nautical terminology, the time a sentry stands watch or a ship's crew is on duty, equal to 4 hours on both land and sea. At sea, the evening watch is often divided into two shorter watches called dog watches. During dog watches, sailors' watch assignments rotate through the day instead of falling at the same hours every day. Watches at sea are divided into 8 bells (4 bells for dog watches).
November 7, 2007