What does "coastwatcher" mean?

Any of the allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific island locations during World War II, to observe enemy shipping movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel.

Coastwatcher

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of the allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific island locations during World War II, to observe enemy shipping movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel. historical

Etymology

From coast + watcher.

Related phrases

world war ii

More for "coastwatcher"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.