watchman

[woch-muhn]

noun

plural

watchmen 

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

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

watchman

/ ˈwɒtʃmən /

noun

1. a person employed to guard buildings or property

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

Other Word Forms

• watchmanly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of watchman¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; watch, man

Example Sentences

At Lions Court, a watchman told them there had been "a big fight" in one of the hotel rooms that weekend and a window had been broken.

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He claimed the duo pushed past the night watchman, collected the artwork and drove to a block of flats in the Isle of Dogs where Mr Love unloaded the Banksy.

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Since the studio was built before live-work spaces were common, Therrien had to design his modest apartment as a “watchman’s quarters” in order to adhere to building code.

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Wealthy people employed "thief takers" to guard their property, whilst ordinary folk had to make do with volunteer watchmen, who focused on the more basic task of keeping order.

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For much of the next 12 years, soldiers and local watchmen patrolled the streets to ensure that shops remained open and penalize anyone they saw engaging in the usual festive excess.

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Related Words

• caretaker 
• custodian 
• patrolman 
• policeman 
• warden