watch
verb (used without object)
to be alertly on the lookout, look attentively, or observe, as to see what comes, is done, or happens.
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UK watch.
watch
American
[woch]
/ wɒtʃ /
verb (used without object)
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watches,
present (3rd person singular)
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watched,
past participle, past
-
watching
present participle
-
to be alertly on the lookout, look attentively, or observe, as to see what comes, is done, or happens.
to watch while an experiment is performed.
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to look or wait attentively and expectantly (usually followed byfor ).
to watch for a signal;
to watch for an opportunity.
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to be careful or cautious.
Watch when you cross the street.
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to keep awake, especially for a purpose; remain vigilant, as for protection or safekeeping.
to watch with a sick person.
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to keep vigil, as for devotional purposes.
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to keep guard.
She was assigned to watch at the door.
verb (used with object)
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watches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
watched,
past participle, past
-
watching
present participle
-
to keep under attentive view or observation, as in order to see or learn something; view attentively or with interest: to watch a football game.
to watch a play;
to watch a football game.
-
to contemplate or regard mentally.
to watch his progress.
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to look or wait attentively and expectantly for.
to watch one's opportunity.
- Synonyms:
- await
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to guard, tend, or oversee, especially for protection or safekeeping.
to watch the baby.
- Synonyms:
- protect
noun
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watches
plural
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close, continuous observation for the purpose of seeing or discovering something.
Their watch for the birds was unrewarding.
- Synonyms:
- attention, inspection
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vigilant guard, as for protection or restraint.
to keep watch for prowlers.
- Synonyms:
- vigil
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a keeping awake for some special purpose.
a watch beside a sickbed.
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a period of time for watching or keeping guard.
to stand the first watch.
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a small, portable timepiece, as a wrist watch or pocket watch.
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a chronometer.
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Nautical.
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a period of time, usually four hours, during which one part of a ship's crew is on duty, taking turns with another part.
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the officers and crew who attend to the working of a ship for an allotted period of time.
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one of the periods, usually three or four, into which the night was divided in ancient times, as by the Greeks or Hebrews.
the fourth watch of the night.
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a person or group that watches, as a lookout, guard, or sentinel.
A watch was posted at sunset.
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Also called storm watch. Meteorology. an announcement from the U.S. National Weather Service alerting the public that dangerous weather conditions are a possibility and that vigilance and precautionary preparations are advised: tornado watch.
hurricane watch;
tornado watch.
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a flock of nightingales.
verb phrase
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watch out to be on one's guard; be cautious.
Watch out for cars when you cross the road.
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watch over to guard for protection or safekeeping.
She watched over us like a mother hen over her brood.
watch
1
British
/ wɒtʃ /
verb
-
to look at or observe closely or attentively
-
to wait attentively or expectantly
-
to guard or tend (something) closely or carefully
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(intr) to keep vigil
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(tr) to maintain an interest in
to watch the progress of a child at school
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be careful! look out!
noun
-
-
a small portable timepiece, usually worn strapped to the wrist (a wristwatch ) or in a waistcoat pocket
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( as modifier )
a watch spring
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the act or an instance of watching
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a period of vigil, esp during the night
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(formerly) one of a set of periods of any of various lengths into which the night was divided
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nautical
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any of the usually four-hour periods beginning at midnight and again at noon during which part of a ship's crew are on duty
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those officers and crew on duty during a specified watch
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the period during which a guard is on duty
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(formerly) a watchman or band of watchmen
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on the lookout; alert
-watch
2
British
suffix
watch
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
Watch, look, see imply being aware of things around one by perceiving them through the eyes. To watch is to be a spectator, to look on or observe, or to fix the attention upon during passage of time: to watch while a procession passes. To look is to direct the gaze with the intention of seeing, to use the eyesight with attention: to look for violets in the spring; to look at articles displayed for sale. To see is to perceive with the eyes, to obtain a visual impression, with or without fixing the attention: animals able to see in the dark.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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watchsimple
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watchessimple
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have watchedperfect
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has watchedperfect
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am watchingprogressive
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are watchingprogressive
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is watchingprogressive
-
have been watchingperfect progressive
-
has been watchingperfect progressive
Past
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watchedsimple
-
had watchedperfect
-
was watchingprogressive
-
were watchingprogressive
-
had been watchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of watch
First recorded before 900; 1580–90 watch for def. 15; (verb) Middle English wacchen, Old English wæccan, doublet of wacian “to be awake”; (noun) Middle English wacche, Old English wæcce, derivative of wæccan; see wake 1
Explanation
When you watch something, you observe it or guard it — like when you watch the latest episode of your favorite television show or when you watch your baby cousin. You use the word watch (rather than look) when you'll be observing for a while, and with some care. If you agree to watch your neighbor's puppy, it means that you've promised to observe him carefully and make sure he doesn't get into trouble. When watch is a noun, it is the timepiece you wear on your wrist. Many people use their cell phones to get the time of day, instead of their watches.
Vocabulary lists containing watch
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A child could eat the fries and then go home and watch the clown who sold them solve a mystery.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
“On the weekends, I’ll wake up with the kids on Saturday mornings, I make them breakfast, and then I sit in the window box while the kids watch ‘Bluey,’” she previously told House Beautiful.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
Investors will watch for market-moving speeches from the event, as well as the developing narrative around sticky inflation and higher borrowing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
But I’m going to watch it anyway because — I mean, come on — it’s “Pride and Prejudice” and I’m just a girl who’s always on the lookout for slow-burn tension and hand-flex close-ups.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
The idea is to shoot the gophers as they pop up out of their holes, but as I watch the guy ahead of me, my heart sinks.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
She now watches Owens’s show, on every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and creates recap videos on her Instagram page, which has amassed nearly 100,000 followers and is regularly reposted by Owens herself.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Watches with designs nodding to other tech giants—including Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon—have also proliferated in recent years, according to Eric Ku, the co-founder of Loupe This, which auctions watches online.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Yuta: Johnny got watches for all of us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk watches a Greenland shark glide slowly through the dark waters of the Arctic on her computer screen.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
But I found a kiosk where a bored-looking teen produced custom watches at a discount price.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
The executives in charge of programming know that these movies will get watched simply because they’re on Netflix, and then they will be drowned by another wave of content.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
We’ve watched celebrities undertake this shape-shifting toward pillowy lips, smooth foreheads, high cheekbones.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
But the data on crime shows there’s something bigger at stake in the Flock camera debate than discomfort with being watched.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
"I can't read instruction manuals, but I've watched YouTube tutorials," he says, generating a growling bass line that sounds like the dawning of the apocalypse.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Ma watched me slice several pieces before I said, “Ba can’t be serious about the matchmaker.”
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Netflix no longer cares if its users enjoy what they’re watching, only that they keep watching.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Many have an emotional interest in building a life around the home itself, measuring their kids’ height on the doorway, watching their kids grow up in the house and then growing old in it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
“You recognize that everybody is watching and paying attention to what you’re doing, so that’s a little bit of a different energy, where you are always on in the role,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Whatever happens, classes start later this month and he’s still grinding, watching and learning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
“It will be so good for them . . . watching things grow. People can learn to love, from flowers. . . .”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
