watch and ward

American  

noun

1. a continuous watch or vigil, by or as by night and by day, especially for the purpose of guarding.

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Etymology

Origin of watch and ward

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Mourned the Daily Mail: "The vision of an alert, unsleeping corps of first-class brains keeping watch and ward has taken another blow."

From Time Magazine Archive

They saw desolation on the plain below, and tall chimneys kept watch and ward over a field of smouldering embers.

From The Story of the Great Fire in St. John, N.B., June 20th, 1877 by Stewart, George

He then relates how he bribed a servant of the Favarts, named Jacques, to keep watch and ward over his mistress within doors, while he himself followed her when she left the house.

From Queens of the French Stage by Williams, H. Noel

The Americans, however, kept watch and ward, around the cannon that had cost them so great a sacrifice, till near daybreak, when orders were received to retire to camp.

From The Second War with England, Vol. 2 of 2 by Headley, Joel Tyler

FUM, or Funj Hwang, one of the four symbolical creatures which in Chinese mythology are believed to keep watch and ward over the Celestial Empire.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various