Meaning & use
watches
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“watches” is a form of “watch”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Small clocks you wear on your wrist, or the plural of a device that shows the time.
Grammar: Plural of 'watch'; use a number or 'a pair of' with it: 'three watches'.
Patterns
- wear a watch
- a watch on your wrist
- check your watch
He owns two watches, one gold and one plastic.
The shop sells watches, clocks and batteries.
Both of my watches stopped at the same time.
verbtransitive
Looks at something carefully over a period of time, especially something that is moving or changing.
Grammar: Third-person singular of 'watch'; it takes an object: 'she watches the birds'.
Patterns
- watch someone do something
- watch something on television
- watch for something
She watches the news every evening at seven.
My grandfather watches the birds in the garden for hours.
He watches his little brother while their mother is at work.
verbintransitive
Stays awake or keeps careful guard, especially to protect someone or something.
Grammar: No object here; it means keeping watch, often with 'over': 'watches over the children'.
Patterns
- watch over someone
- watch while someone sleeps
A nurse watches over the patients during the night.
Someone watches at the gate until morning.
Word forms
| base form | watch |
|---|---|
| third person singular | watches |
| past tense | watched |
| past participle | watched |
| -ing form | watching |
Common combinations
- watch your step
- Watch your step on the icy path.
- watch the clock
- Don't watch the clock; just finish the job.
- watch closely
- Watch closely and you'll see the trick.
- watch what you say
- He should watch what he says to customers.
- watch the game
- We watched the game at a friend's house.
Synonyms and how they differ
- observe
- More formal and often suggests watching to learn or record something, not for entertainment.
- view
- Suggests watching something as a whole, often once, rather than keeping your eyes on it over time.
- monitor
- Used for watching something continuously to check it, especially with equipment.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: watches or washes? watches or watched?
watches vs washes
'Watches' has a /tʃ/ sound and means looking or timepieces; 'washes' has /ʃ/ and means cleaning with water.
watches vs watched
'Watched' is the past tense; 'watches' is present tense or plural, so 'yesterday she watches' is wrong.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
With 'she' we need the third-person singular form 'watches'. 'Watch' is wrong because it goes with I/you/we/they, and 'watching' needs 'is' before it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “watches”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.