Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

6 VERB If you tell someone to watch a particular person or thing, you are warning them to be careful that the person or thing does not get out of control or do something unpleasant. □ [V n] You really ought to watch these quiet types. □ [V n] If you're watching the calories, don't have mayonnaise.

7 N‑COUNT A watch is a period of carefully looking and listening, often while other people are asleep and often as a military duty, so that you can warn them of danger or an attack. □  I had the first watch that May evening.

8 PHRASE If someone keeps watch , they look and listen all the time, while other people are asleep or doing something else, so that they can warn them of danger or an attack. □  Jose, as usual, had climbed a tree to keep watch.

9 PHRASE If you keep watch on events or a situation, you pay attention to what is happening, so that you can take action at the right moment. □  U.S. officials have been keeping close watch on the situation.

10 PHRASE You say ' watch it ' in order to warn someone to be careful, especially when you want to threaten them about what will happen if they are not careful. □  'Now watch it, Patsy,' the Sergeant told her.

11 PHRASE If someone is on watch , they have the job of carefully looking and listening, often while other people are asleep and often as a military duty, so that they can warn them of danger or an attack. □  Apart from two men on watch in the engine-room, everyone was asleep.

12 PHRASE If you are on the watch for something, you are expecting it to happen and you therefore pay attention to events so that you will notice it when it does happen. □ [+ for ] Environmentalists will be on the watch for damage to wildlife.

13 PHRASE If someone is being kept under watch , they are being guarded or observed all the time.

14 PHRASE You say to someone ' you watch ' or ' just watch ' when you are predicting that something will happen, and you are very confident that it will happen as you say. □  You watch. Things will get worse before they get better.

15to watch your step → see step

▸  watch for or watch out for PHRASAL VERB If you watch for something or watch out for it, you pay attention so that you notice it, either because you do not want to miss it or because you want to avoid it. □ [V P n] We'll be watching for any developments. □ [V P P n] He called out to them to watch out for the unexploded mine.

▸  watch out PHRASAL VERB If you tell someone to watch out , you are warning them to be careful, because something unpleasant might happen to them or they might get into difficulties. □ [V P ] You have to watch out because there are land mines all over the place.

▸  watch out for → see watch for

▸  watch over PHRASAL VERB If you watch over someone or something, you pay attention to them to make sure that nothing bad happens to them. □ [V P n] The guards were originally hired to watch over the houses as they were being built.

➋ watch ◆◇◇ /wɒ tʃ/ (watches ) N‑COUNT A watch is a small clock which you wear on a strap on your wrist, or on a chain. SYNONYMS watch VERB ➊1

look:She turned to look at him.

see:I saw a man making his way towards me.

peer:He watched the Customs official peer into the driver's window.

stare:Tamara stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head.

watch|dog /wɒ tʃdɒg, [AM ] -dɔːg/ (watchdogs ) N‑COUNT [N n] A watchdog is a person or committee whose job is to make sure that companies do not act illegally or irresponsibly. □  …an anti-crime watchdog group funded by New York businesses.