watchman

[ woch-muh n ]

/ ˈwɒtʃ mən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR watchman ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural watch·men.

a person who keeps guard over a building at night, to protect it from fire, vandals, or thieves.

(formerly) a person who guards or patrols the streets at night.

Words nearby watchman

watcheye, watchful, watchless, watchlist, watchmaker, watchman, watchout, watchstrap, watchtower, watchword, watenstedt-salzgitter

Origin of watchman

late Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at watch, man¹

OTHER WORDS FROM watchman

watch·man·ly, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for watchman

Kocurek now works 12-hour shifts as a night watchman guarding the entrance to a drilling patch.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His usual trick: bribing the night watchman to let him into the bank.
The High Society Bank Robber of the 1800s|J. North Conway|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My friends and I went there once or twice a week and waited for the watchman to chase us out.
The Stacks: A Dog Dies, a Boy Grows Up|Pete Dexter|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Wolf and the Watchman: A Father, a Son, and the CIA by Scott C. Johnson, W.W. Norton & Co.
The National Book Awards Longlist for Nonfiction||September 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As a candid psychological exploration of a highly charged filial relationship, The Wolf and the Watchman fascinates.
Haunted by his Father’s Secret Life in the CIA|Emma Garman|June 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Then he paid some buksheesh (reward) to the night watchman and came home.
Indian Ghost Stories|S. Mukerji
It is quickly challenged by the entry of Antigone with the Watchman, whose story Creon hastens out to hear.
Authors of Greece|T. W. Lumb
In these the amorous knight is represented as pleading with the watchman of the castle for admission to his lady-love.
Woman's Work in Music|Arthur Elson
And Kryltzoff repeated the watchman's words, "Not at all frightful," and tried to smile, but burst into sobs instead.
Resurrection|Leo Tolstoy
It was the "Heynal," the watchman's horn-song from the towers of Panna Marya.
Lady Connie|Mrs. Humphry Ward

British Dictionary definitions for watchman

watchman

/ (ˈwɒtʃmən) /

noun plural -men

a person employed to guard buildings or property

(formerly) a man employed to patrol or guard the streets at night

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

watchman

noun, plural watch·men.

Content related to watchman

Words related to watchman

Words nearby watchman

Origin of watchman

OTHER WORDS FROM watchman

Examples from the Web for watchman

British Dictionary definitions for watchman

noun plural -men