watched; watching; watches
1
a
: to keep vigil as a devotional exercise
b
: to be awake during the night
2
a
: to be attentive or vigilant
b
: to keep guard
3
a
: to keep someone or something under close observation
b
: to observe as a spectator
the country watched as stocks fell sharply
4
: to be expectant : wait
watch for the signal
1
: to keep under guard
2
a
: to observe closely in order to check on action or change
being watched by the police
b
: to look at : observe
sat and watched the crowd
c
: to look on at
watch television
watch a ball game
3
a
: to take care of : tend
b
: to be careful of
watches his diet
4
: to be on the alert for : bide
watched her opportunity
1
a
: the act of keeping awake to guard, protect, or attend
b
obsolete
: the state of being wakeful
c
: a wake over a dead body
d
: a state of alert and continuous attention
e
: close observation : surveillance
f
: a notice or bulletin that alerts the public to the possibility of severe weather conditions occurring in the near future
a winter storm watch
2
a
: any of the definite divisions of the night made by ancient peoples
b
: one of the indeterminate intervals marking the passage of night
—usually used in plural
the silent watches of the night
4
5
a(1)
: a portion of time during which a part of a ship's company is on duty
(2)
: the part of a ship's company required to be on duty during a particular watch
(3)
: a sailor's assigned duty period
b
: a period of duty : shift
c
: a term as holder especially of an overseeing or managerial office
the business grew on her watch
6
: a portable timepiece designed to be worn (as on the wrist) or carried in the pocket compare clock
Examples of watch in a Sentence
Verb
They have a rookie on the team who is fun to watch.
I fell asleep watching television.
What movie are you watching?
“Mom, watch me do a cartwheel!”
She sat and watched the children play.
“Would you like to play, too?” “No, I'll just watch.”
Just sit back and watch.
Keep watching to see what happens next.
“What happens next?” “Watch and see.”
People are watching this presidential race very carefully.
Noun
He glanced at his watch.
When you're driving in winter you should always be on the watch for ice on the roads.
Recent Examples on the Web
Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
The network was about to hire The Daily Show host when a producer Kimmel worked with on the '90s game show Win Ben Stein's Money suggested that the head of the network watch video of him, Kimmel explained Wednesday on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for watch
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Radio tags were never placed on the whales and volunteers trained to identify them never made any identifications by the time whale-watching season opened.
—Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
That’s the estimate for Coppola’s unique watch, which the Godfather director wore at the Cannes premiere of Megalopolis.
—Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
The network was about to hire The Daily Show host when a producer Kimmel worked with on the '90s game show Win Ben Stein's Money suggested that the head of the network watch video of him, Kimmel explained Wednesday on the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast.
—Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for watch
Cite this Entry
“Watch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/watch. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
watch
1 of 2 verb
ˈwäch 
ˈwȯch
1
: to stay awake especially during the night (as at the bedside of a sick person)
2
: to be on the alert or on the lookout
3
: to keep guard
watch outside the door
4
: to keep one's eyes on : keep in view
watch a game
5
: to keep in view so as to prevent harm or warn of danger
watch a brush fire carefully
6
: to keep oneself informed about
watch his career
7
: to be on the alert for the chance to make use of
watched her opportunity and took it
watcher
noun
watch
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the act of keeping awake to guard, protect, or attend
b
: a state of alert and continuous attention
a tornado watch
c
: close observation
kept a watch over the prisoner
2
a
: watchman
b
: a body of watchmen
3
a
: a period during which a part of a ship's company is on duty
b
: the part of a ship's company on duty during a watch
4
: a portable timepiece designed to be worn (as on the wrist) or carried in the pocket
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