Diccionario ingles.comDiccionario ingles.com
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home
English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Watch night   /wɑtʃ naɪt/   Listen
noun
Watch  n.  
1.
The act of watching; forbearance of sleep; vigil; wakeful, vigilant, or constantly observant attention; close observation; guard; preservative or preventive vigilance; formerly, a watching or guarding by night. "Shepherds keeping watch by night." "All the long night their mournful watch they keep." Note: Watch was formerly distinguished from ward, the former signifying a watching or guarding by night, and the latter a watching, guarding, or protecting by day Hence, they were not unfrequently used together, especially in the phrase to keep watch and ward, to denote continuous and uninterrupted vigilance or protection, or both watching and guarding. This distinction is now rarely recognized, watch being used to signify a watching or guarding both by night and by day, and ward, which is now rarely used, having simply the meaning of guard, or protection, without reference to time. "Still, when she slept, he kept both watch and ward." "Ward, guard, or custodia, is chiefly applied to the daytime, in order to apprehend rioters, and robbers on the highway... Watch, is properly applicable to the night only,... and it begins when ward ends, and ends when that begins."
2.
One who watches, or those who watch; a watchman, or a body of watchmen; a sentry; a guard. "Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye can."
3.
The post or office of a watchman; also, the place where a watchman is posted, or where a guard is kept. "He upbraids Iago, that he made him Brave me upon the watch."
4.
The period of the night during which a person does duty as a sentinel, or guard; the time from the placing of a sentinel till his relief; hence, a division of the night. "I did stand my watch upon the hill." "Might we but hear... Or whistle from the lodge, or village cock Count the night watches to his feathery dames."
5.
A small timepiece, or chronometer, to be carried about the person, the machinery of which is moved by a spring. Note: Watches are often distinguished by the kind of escapement used, as an anchor watch, a lever watch, a chronometer watch, etc. (see the Note under Escapement, n., 3); also, by the kind of case, as a gold or silver watch, an open-faced watch, a hunting watch, or hunter, etc.
6.
(Naut.)
(a)
An allotted portion of time, usually four hour for standing watch, or being on deck ready for duty. Cf. Dogwatch.
(b)
That part, usually one half, of the officers and crew, who together attend to the working of a vessel for an allotted time, usually four hours. The watches are designated as the port watch, and the starboard watch.
Anchor watch (Naut.), a detail of one or more men who keep watch on deck when a vessel is at anchor.
To be on the watch, to be looking steadily for some event.
Watch and ward (Law), the charge or care of certain officers to keep a watch by night and a guard by day in towns, cities, and other districts, for the preservation of the public peace.
Watch and watch (Naut.), the regular alternation in being on watch and off watch of the two watches into which a ship's crew is commonly divided.
Watch barrel, the brass box in a watch, containing the mainspring.
Watch bell (Naut.), a bell struck when the half-hour glass is run out, or at the end of each half hour.
Watch bill (Naut.), a list of the officers and crew of a ship as divided into watches, with their stations.
Watch case, the case, or outside covering, of a watch; also, a case for holding a watch, or in which it is kept.
Watch chain. Same as watch guard, below.
Watch clock, a watchman's clock; see under Watchman.
Watch fire, a fire lighted at night, as a signal, or for the use of a watch or guard.
Watch glass.
(a)
A concavo-convex glass for covering the face, or dial, of a watch; also called watch crystal.
(b)
(Naut.) A half-hour glass used to measure the time of a watch on deck.
Watch guard, a chain or cord by which a watch is attached to the person.
Watch gun (Naut.), a gun sometimes fired on shipboard at 8 p. m., when the night watch begins.
Watch light, a low-burning lamp used by watchers at night; formerly, a candle having a rush wick.
Watch night, The last night of the year; so called by the Methodists, Moravians, and others, who observe it by holding religious meetings lasting until after midnight.
Watch paper, an old-fashioned ornament for the inside of a watch case, made of paper cut in some fanciful design, as a vase with flowers, etc.
Watch tackle (Naut.), a small, handy purchase, consisting of a tailed double block, and a single block with a hook.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words



Share |





"Watch night" Quotes from Famous Books



... said—"you will be in time for lunch—and remain there until I come. From to-day onward, although actually your health does not permit of the strain, we must watch, watch night and day." ...
— Brood of the Witch-Queen • Sax Rohmer

... must give my life to find out where he hides these things. I will watch night after night by the door of his tent, and if he comes out I will stab him; it shall be a mortal wound, but I will not kill him outright. Before he dies he will doubtless, as the other did, pass the jewels on to some comrade, and then it will be for you to follow ...
— Colonel Thorndyke's Secret • G. A. Henty

... solemnly reconciled. The Duke of York and his partisans came thither with numerous retinues, and took up their quarters near each other for mutual security. The leaders of the Lancastrian party used the same precaution. The mayor, at the head of five thousand men, kept a strict watch night and day, and was extremely vigilant in maintaining peace between them. Terms were adjusted, which removed not the ground of difference. An outward reconciliation only was procured; and in order to notify this accord to the whole people, a solemn procession to St. Paul's was appointed, ...
— The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 8 - The Later Renaissance: From Gutenberg To The Reformation • Editor-in-Chief: Rossiter Johnson

... so frankly and openly that Sam almost believed it to be true. But the case was beginning to be too interesting to allow risks to be taken, so the detectives kept their long and tedious watch night and day. They had failed to see Cummings when he leaped from the car, for a team crossing the track had delayed the car long enough for him to get into the shadows on the other side of the street, so that the detectives little knew that the man they wanted ...
— Jim Cummings • Frank Pinkerton



Copyright © 2025 Diccionario ingles.com