watch fire

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noun

a fire maintained during the night as a signal and for providing light and warmth for guards.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of watch fire

First recorded in 1795–1805

Words nearby watch fire

watch chain, Watch Committee, watchdog, watcher, watcheye, watch fire, watchful, watch-glass, watch guard, watch it, watchless

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use watch fire in a sentence

Napoleon's watch-fire was kindled behind the old guard, between Reudnitz and Crottendorf.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane
Camp Karonya was improving the moonlight night by sitting around a watch-fire, singing and telling stories.
Winona of the Camp Fire|Margaret Widdemer
Plater, benumbed with cold (it is himself who gives us the account), had drawn off his boots to warm his feet at the watch-fire.
History of the Great Reformation, Volume IV|J. H. Merle D'Aubign
It is a watch–fire, and our foes are waking up to warm themselves and to keep their watch.
The Matabele Campaign|R. S. S. Baden-Powell

Far away a red point rose and fell in the darkness—a watch-fire of the enemy upon the further shore.
The Last of the Legions and Other Tales of Long Ago|Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for watch fire

watch fire

noun

a fire kept burning at night as a signal or for warmth and light by a person keeping watch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012