| • | 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. |
| • | One who watches, or those who watch; a watchman, or a body of watchmen; a sentry; a guard. |
| • | The post or office of a watchman; also, the place where a watchman is posted, or where a guard is kept. |
| • | 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. |
| • | A small timepiece, or chronometer, to be carried about the person, the machinery of which is moved by a spring. |
| • | An allotted portion of time, usually four hour for standing watch, or being on deck ready for duty. Cf. Dogwatch. |
| • | 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. |
| • | To be awake; to be or continue without sleep; to wake; to keep vigil. |
| • | To be attentive or vigilant; to give heed; to be on the lookout; to keep guard; to act as sentinel. |
| • | To be expectant; to look with expectation; to wait; to seek opportunity. |
| • | To remain awake with any one as nurse or attendant; to attend on the sick during the night; as, to watch with a man in a fever. |
| • | To serve the purpose of a watchman by floating properly in its place; -- said of a buoy. |
| • | To give heed to; to observe the actions or motions of, for any purpose; to keep in view; not to lose from sight and observation; as, to watch the progress of a bill in the legislature. |
| • | To tend; to guard; to have in keeping. |
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