night watch
Americannoun
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a watch or guard kept during the night.
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a person or the persons keeping such a watch.
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Usually night watches the periods or divisions into which the night was divided in ancient times.
noun
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a watch or guard kept at night, esp for security
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the period of time the watch is kept
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a person who keeps such a watch; night watchman
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of night watch
before 1000; Middle English; Old English
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.
One morning soon after, as Giulia is chopping fruit and stirring porridge, the night watch tells her about an unusual little light that's been spotted on the horizon.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025
Boylan, who had not ordered a roving night watch as people slept, was convicted in 2023 of seaman’s manslaughter and sentenced in May to four years in federal prison.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2024
The government said Boylan failed to post the required roving night watch and never properly trained his crew in firefighting.
From Seattle Times • May 1, 2024
By night, allies and friends look out for him, taking turns on night watch shifts outside the lavvu to keep him safe.
From Salon • Oct. 12, 2023
By the time she got up on deck, the others had already gathered—all hastily dressed except for Coach Hedge, who had pulled the night watch.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
