Meanings
- alternativeAlternative form of on watch.
His children, married and single, were ever on the watch for what they could get out of him.
1924 December 1, “Peasants”, in Time3 more examples
"Come into that little brush-shop and sit down, father—they'll let you sit down," said Eppie, always on the watch lest one of her father's strange attacks should come on.
1861, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XXI, in Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLCEven when he eats and sleeps there is always one on the watch near him who has strength and weapons.
1897, Joseph Conrad, Karain: A MemoirThe department also notified its Bureau of Forestry and Electricity to be on the watch for ice on trees and power lines.
2007, "WEATHER UPDATE," WBBM780.com (Illinois), 2 Dec.Synonyms: on watch
Synonyms & antonyms
Cite this entry
on the watch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20watch
“on the watch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20watch. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the watch,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20watch.
Source: on the watch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.