ˈwächə(r) also ˈwȯch- noun
( -s )
: one that watches: as
a. : one that sits up or continues awake at night
get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us, and show us to be watchers — Shakespeare
b. : one that keeps awake for the purpose of guarding : watchman
the tapes and the lights instantly alert round-the-clock watchers when a criminal has run afoul of an electric or electronic snare — Alan Hynd
c. : angel 1b
d.
(1) : one that keeps watch beside a dead person
(2) : one that attends a sick person at night
e. : observer , viewer
an intense watcher of the scene — Elizabeth M. Roberts
the sky watchers tell us of the birth and death of stars — Scientific American Reader
f. : a representative of a party or candidate who is stationed at the polls on an election day to watch the conduct of officials and voters
g. : one that is employed to watch equipment to see that a manufacturing or other process is carried out correctly: as
(1) : one that runs an embroidering machine
(2) : a textile worker who watches the fixing of colors on printed cloth
h. : one that tests the gas content of petroleum tanks before cleaners enter them