watchman
Americannoun
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a person who keeps guard over a building at night, to protect it from fire, vandals, or thieves.
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(formerly) a person who guards or patrols the streets at night.
noun
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a person employed to guard buildings or property
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(formerly) a man employed to patrol or guard the streets at night
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of watchman
late Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at watch, man
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.
See Examples For:
Reyne took over as night watchman, with his tent on the asphalt in the parking lot behind.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
At the time of the record destruction, which was revealed by a night watchman who saw it happening and saved some documents, UBS was under scrutiny for its wartime activities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
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.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025
Last month, Richard Abath, the night watchman who mistakenly allowed in the thieves, died at 57.
From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2024
“I judged the person to be with him,” returned the watchman.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
It was those watchmen who came to the boathouse to report that they’d spotted a man in a waterproof jacket drag the Zodiac up the embankment.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Some people had their own fire buckets - and those who could afford it paid insurance companies with watchmen to raise the alarm and crews to put out the fires.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2024
Because Burtis’s father-in-law was active with the city’s local constabulary and watchmen patrol, he joined too.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 27, 2022
We had well-trained dogs and watchmen patrolling our property, which had seven-foot walls that were topped with spiked glass shards.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2019
The watchmen cried aloud, and all men in the City stood to arms.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
