keep watch

Idioms  

1. Also,; watch over. Observe with continuous attention, especially to act as a sentinel or for protection. For example, Afraid that the wolves would return, she kept watch while the others slept, or They kept a close watch on the harbor, looking for signs of enemy ships, or, according to the Gospel of St. Luke (2:8): “And there were in the same country shepherds ... keeping watch over their flock by night.” [Late 1300s] Also see keep an eye out for.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

keep watch

Dozens of Wisconsinites volunteer each spring to keep watch against poachers as the sturgeon make their way upriver to spawn; thousands more come to watch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

To keep watch for rustlers, Brittain scans the classified ads in the back of Livestock Weekly for ones that look suspicious.

From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026

Bindi had vanished during the Covid pandemic, and Jilly spent her daily walks looking for her, posting appeals on social media and asking people in Haddenham to keep watch for her.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

They had considered giving that guy money to keep watch.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2025

“Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father’s house, and to keep watch over my father.”

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Related Words

• cruise
• inspect
• safeguard