Watchdog

//ˈwɑːt͡ʃˌdɑːɡ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A guard dog.
  2. 2
    a dog trained to guard property wordnet
  3. 3
    An individual or group that monitors the activities of another entity (such as an individual, corporation, non-profit group, or governmental organization) on behalf of the public to ensure that entity does not behave illegally or unethically. figuratively

    "Governments must "outline how they will reassure passengers that it will be as safe as possible to travel by public transport", according to industry watchdogs Transport Focus and London TravelWatch."

  4. 4
    a guardian or defender against theft or illegal practices or waste wordnet
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of watchdog timer. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Verb
  1. 1
    To perform a function analogous to that of a watchdog; to guard and warn.
  2. 2
    To be continuously reset by a watchdog timer.

Synonyms

All synonyms
bandogbitchbowwowcaninecerberusclanger

Example

More examples

"My watchdog is alert to the slightest sound and movement."

Etymology

From watch + dog.

Related phrases

Moscow Watchdogwatchdog timerguard dogwatchdog timer

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