deathwatch
[ deth-woch, -wawch ]
/ ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ, -ˌwɔtʃ /
noun
a vigil beside a dying or dead person.
a guard set over a condemned person before execution.
Also called deathwatch beetle. any of several beetles of the family Anobiidae that make a ticking sound as they bore through wood: the sound was once believed to be an omen of death.
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Words nearby deathwatch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for deathwatch
It sounds to me like the echoing tick, tick of some great beetle; like the sort of noise which a deathwatch makes, you know.
The Lock And Key Library|VariousThe deathwatch, like conscience, doth make cowards of us all.
George Cruikshank's Omnibus|George CruikshankIn the wainscot of the room a deathwatch ticked its doleful omen.
The Golden Dog|William KirbyEvery pulse-beat is in exact time with the cricket's chant and the tickings of the deathwatch in the wall.
Excursions and Poems|Henry David Thoreau
British Dictionary definitions for deathwatch
deathwatch
/ (ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ) /
noun
a vigil held beside a dying or dead person
deathwatch beetle a beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, whose woodboring larvae are a serious pest. The adult produces a rapid tapping sound with its head that was once popularly supposed to presage deathSee also anobiid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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