What does "watch" mean?
A portable or wearable timepiece.
Watch
/ˈwɒt͡ʃ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A portable or wearable timepiece.
- Grammar: watch is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: lookout, abide, airplane spotter, alarm clock.
- Useful contrasts: ball, delayed, disregard.
- Usage evidence: There are 1000 movies that one must watch before dying.
How to use "watch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "watch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "watch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "watch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "watch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "watch" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "lookout" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "watch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A portable or wearable timepiece.
"Meronyms: watch face, watch receiver, watchspring, watch battery, watchstrap, watch strap, watchband"
- 2 a purposeful surveillance to guard or observe wordnet
- 3 The act of guarding and observing someone or something.
"shepherds keeping watch by night"
- 4 the rite of staying awake for devotional purposes (especially on the eve of a religious festival) wordnet
- 5 A particular time period when guarding is kept.
"The second watch of the night began at midnight."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 a small portable timepiece wordnet
- 7 A period of wakefulness between the two sleeps of a biphasic sleep pattern (the dead sleep or first sleep and morning sleep or second sleep): the first waking.
- 8 a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event wordnet
- 9 A person or group of people who guard.
"The watch stopped the travelers at the city gates."
- 10 a period of time (4 or 2 hours) during which some of a ship's crew are on duty wordnet
- 11 The post or office of a watchman; also, the place where a watchman is posted, or where a guard is kept.
"He upbraids Iago, that he made him Brave me upon the watch."
- 12 the period during which someone (especially a guard) is on duty wordnet
- 13 A group of sailors and officers aboard a ship or shore station with a common period of duty: starboard watch, port watch.
- 14 A period of time on duty, usually four hours in length; the officers and crew who tend the working of a vessel during the same watch. (FM 55–501).
- 15 The act of seeing, or viewing, for a period of time.
"A quick watch of Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange sends this reality home fast. Amoral, vacuous, cold-blooded, unsympathetic, and chillingly evil describe only parts of the story."
Verb
- 1 To look at, see, or view for a period of time. ambitransitive
"Watching the clock will not make time go faster."
- 2 find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort wordnet
- 3 To observe over a period of time; to notice or pay attention. transitive
"Watch this!"
- 4 observe without intervening wordnet
- 5 To mind, attend, or guard. transitive
"Please watch my suitcase for a minute."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 observe or determine by looking wordnet
- 7 To be wary or cautious of. transitive
"You should watch that guy. He has a reputation for lying."
- 8 look attentively wordnet
- 9 To attend to dangers to or regarding. transitive
"watch your head; watch your step"
- 10 see or watch wordnet
- 11 To remain awake with a sick or dying person; to maintain a vigil. intransitive
"At the funeralls in Yorkeshire, to this day, they continue the custome of watching & sitting-up all night till the body is interred."
- 12 be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful wordnet
- 13 To be vigilant or on one's guard. intransitive
"For some must watch, while some must sleep: So runs the world away."
- 14 follow with the eyes or the mind wordnet
- 15 To act as a lookout. intransitive
- 16 To serve the purpose of a watchman by floating properly in its place.
- 17 To be awake. intransitive, obsolete
"So on the morne Sir Trystram, Sir Gareth and Sir Dynadan arose early and went unto Sir Palomydes chambir, and there they founde hym faste aslepe, for he had all nyght wacched […]"
- 18 To be on the lookout for; to wait for expectantly. obsolete, transitive
"[S]he had reason to dread that her husband had formed a very criminal project of being revenged on Zeluco, and watched an opportunity of putting it in execution."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"There are 1000 movies that one must watch before dying."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "watch"?
Common synonyms include: lookout, abide, airplane spotter, alarm clock, alarm watch, anchor watch.
How do you use "watch" in a sentence?
There are 1000 movies that one must watch before dying.
How do you pronounce "watch"?
Pronounced /ˈwɒt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
As a noun, from Middle English wacche, from Old English wæċċe. See below for verb form.
Etymology 2
From Middle English wacchen, from Old English wæċċan, from Proto-West Germanic *wakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *wakjaną.