watch — OET · Shobdo

watch

verb

1 Philippa continued to watch him as he spoke:

observe, view, look at, eye, gaze at, stare at, gape at, peer at;

contemplate, survey, feast one's eyes on, watch like a hawk, keep a weather eye on;

inspect, scrutinize, scan, examine, study, take in, take stock of, glance at;

see, notice, spot, glimpse, spy, catch sight of, lay one's eyes on, perceive, witness;

ogle, leer at, make eyes at;

pay attention to, regard, attend, take note of, mark;

informal check out, get a load of, recce, eyeball, not take one's eyes off;

British, informal take a dekko at, take a butcher's at;

literary behold.

▷antonyms ignore, disregard.

2 he was being watched by plain-clothes police:

spy on, keep watch on, keep an eye on, keep in sight, keep track of, track, monitor, survey, follow, keep under observation, keep under surveillance;

informal keep tabs on, keep a beady eye on, stake out;

rare surveil.

3 we need to find a trustworthy person to watch the kids:

look after, mind, take care of, care for, supervise, superintend, tend, attend to, minister to, foster, nurse, guard, safeguard, protect;

informal keep an eye on.

▷antonyms neglect.

4 they came to a large set of steel doors, watched over by a single guard | two men stayed to watch the boat:

guard, stand guard over, keep guard on, protect, shield, preserve, defend, safeguard, screen, shelter;

cover, patrol, police, picket, keep a lookout at.

5 most women watch their diet during pregnancy | watch what you say to him:

be careful about/of, exercise care/caution/restraint about;

be aware of, pay attention to, consider, take into account/consideration, bear in mind, keep in mind;

mind, attend to, pay heed to.

□ watch out (also watch it or watch yourself)

‘Watch out’ he yelled |

watch it, Bob, or you'll go over the edge:

be careful, be watchful, beware, be on the watch, be wary, be cautious, be on your guard, mind out, look out, pay attention, take heed/care, have a care, be on the alert/lookout, keep a sharp lookout, be vigilant, be hypervigilant, be on the qui vive;

informal keep an eye open/out, keep one's eyes peeled/skinned.

□ watch for (also watch out for)

he made idle banter as they watched for the van:

look out for, wait for, await, stand by for, hold back for;

anticipate, expect;

informal keep an eye open for.

noun

1 Harvey looked at his watch and said ‘Time to get ready’:

timepiece, chronometer, small clock, timer;

wristwatch, pocket watch, fob watch, digital watch, stopwatch.

2 we kept watch on the yacht:

guard, vigil, lookout, an eye;

observance, observation, surveillance, vigilance, view, notice.

3 Ratagan took the first watch while the rest slept:

shift, stint, spell, stretch, turn.

watch Oxford Dictionary of English