# watch

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈwɒt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #461

## Definitions
1. A portable or wearable timepiece.
2. The act of guarding and observing someone or something.
3. A particular time period when guarding is kept.
4. A period of wakefulness between the two sleeps of a biphasic sleep pattern (the dead sleep or first sleep and morning sleep or second sleep): the first waking.
5. A person or group of people who guard.
6. The post or office of a watchman; also, the place where a watchman is posted, or where a guard is kept.
7. A group of sailors and officers aboard a ship or shore station with a common period of duty: starboard watch, port watch.
8. A period of time on duty, usually four hours in length; the officers and crew who tend the working of a vessel during the same watch. (FM 55–501).
9. The act of seeing, or viewing, for a period of time.

## Etymology
As a noun, from Middle English wacche, from Old English wæċċe. See below for verb form.

## Easily confused with
- **WTH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-wth)
- **WTC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-wtc)
- **with** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-with)
- **watt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-watt)
- **wich** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-wich)
- **which** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-which)
- **Water** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-water)
- **witch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-witch)
- **Watts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-watts)
- **wrath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-wrath)
- **welch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-welch)
- **winch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-winch)
- **waugh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-waugh)
- **wench** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-wench)
- **wretch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-wretch)
- **watched** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-watched)
- **watches** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-watches)
- **watcher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-watcher)
- **whatcha** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/watch-vs-whatcha)
- **wah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wah-vs-watch)

## Common misspellings (8)
`awtch`, `wacth`, `watcch`, `watchh`, `wathc`, `wattch`, `wtach`, `wwatch`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/watch