Meanings
nounwatchfire (plural watchfires)
plural watchfires
- A fire maintained during the night by people keeping watch.
Several praus went out in search of the pirates, sentinels were appointed, and watch-fires lighted on the beach to guard against the possibility of a night attack, though it was hardly thought they would be bold enough to attempt to plunder Dobbo.
1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 211
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
watchfire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/watchfire
MLA
“watchfire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/watchfire. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “watchfire,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/watchfire.
Source: watchfire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.