watch

English

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia

Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia

A pocketwatch (timepiece)
A wristwatch (timepiece)

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

As a noun, from Middle English wacche, from Old English wæċċe. See below for verb form.

Noun

watch (plural watches)

  1. A portable or wearable timepiece.
    More people today carry a watch on their wrists than in their pockets.
  2. A particular time period when guarding is kept.
    The second watch of the night began at midnight.
  3. A person or group of people who guard.
    The watch stopped the travelers at the city gates.
  4. (nautical) A group of sailors and officers aboard a ship or shore station with a common period of duty: starboard watch, port watch.
  5. (nautical) 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).
  6. The act of seeing, or viewing, for a period of time.
    • 2004, Charles P. Nemeth, Criminal law
      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.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun "watch"
Translations
portable or wearable timepiece
particular time period
person or group of people who guard
group of sailors and officers
period of time on duty
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

As a verb, from Middle English wacchen, from Old English wæċċan (from the same root as its synonym and doublet wacian, which lead to wake in modern English), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wakōną, *wakjaną. Cognate with West Frisian weitsje (“to wake, watch”), Dutch waken (“to wake, watch”), German wachen (“to wake, watch”).

Verb

watch (third-person singular simple present watches, present participle watching, simple past and past participle watched)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be awake.
    • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book X:
      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 [...].
  2. (transitive) To look at, see, or view for a period of time.
    Watching the clock will not make time go faster.
    I'm tired of watching TV.
  3. (transitive) To observe over a period of time; to notice or pay attention.
    Watch this!
    Put a little baking soda in some vinegar and watch what happens.
  4. (transitive) To mind, attend, or guard.
    Please watch my suitcase for a minute.
    He has to watch the kids that afternoon.
  5. (transitive) To be wary or cautious of.
    You should watch that guy. He has a reputation for lying.
  6. (transitive) To attend to dangers to or regarding.
    Watch your head.; Watch your step.
    Watch yourself when you talk to him.
    Watch what you say.
  7. (intransitive) To remain awake with a sick or dying person; to maintain a vigil
  8. (intransitive) To be vigilant or on one's guard
    For some must watch, while some must sleep: So runs the world away.
  9. (intransitive) To act as a lookout
Usage notes
  • When used transitively to mean look at something, there is an implication that the direct object is something which is capable of changing.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Terms derived from the verb "watch"
Translations
to look at for a period of time
to observe
to attend or guard
to be wary
to be vigilant
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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Last modified on 19 May 2013, at 15:25