1
as in custodian
a person or group that watches over someone or something
hired a watchman to patrol the factory at night
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of watchman
Stingley died the same year as Trayvon Martin, a Black Florida teen shot to death by a neighborhood volunteer watchman, who was acquitted in 2013.
—
Megan O’Matz,
ProPublica,
16 Jan. 2026
Désir explained the various Gede spirits, like Baron Samedi, the spirit that takes souls to the afterlife and Brav Gede the watchman of the graveyard.
—
Miami Herald,
12 Nov. 2025
The old man of the night, the watchman not yet in bed.
—
Literary Hub,
19 Sep. 2025
Here was another young Black person, a 17-year-old heading back from the convenience store, who had been deemed a threat, shot, and killed by a neighborhood watchman.
—
Noelle Swan,
Christian Science Monitor,
27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for watchman
Megan O’Matz,
ProPublica,
16 Jan. 2026
Désir explained the various Gede spirits, like Baron Samedi, the spirit that takes souls to the afterlife and Brav Gede the watchman of the graveyard.
—
Miami Herald,
12 Nov. 2025
The old man of the night, the watchman not yet in bed.
—
Literary Hub,
19 Sep. 2025
Here was another young Black person, a 17-year-old heading back from the convenience store, who had been deemed a threat, shot, and killed by a neighborhood watchman.
—
Noelle Swan,
Christian Science Monitor,
27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for watchman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for watchman
Noun
-
The business solution provider, on the other hand, acts as the logical custodian of critical processes.
-
Williams has never lacked interpreters, custodians, handlers, or rescuers with pruning shears.
Noun
-
Jayed ruled that Waldermar Anton collided with the keeper while the ball was airborne, disallowing the goal.
-
Rest in peace, Ser Simon Strong, castellan of Harrenhal, drip king, stealth diva, keeper of the best vibes on House of the Dragon.
Noun
-
Former Houston standout guard Kingston Flemings hit a deep jumper — his toe was ruled on the 3-point line — with three seconds left in OT, slicing Utah’s lead to one, 100-99.
-
Tempers flared late in the fourth quarter when Kings center Dylan Cardwell and Nets guard Egor Demin wrestled for a loose ball.
Noun
-
The janitor of the school is more important than the principal.
-
Broadwater, then 20, had grown up as one of six children of a janitor who worked for Syracuse University.
Noun
-
The irony is that in not trying to pass muster with more conservative theatergoers (and their fastidious institutional guardians), playwrights have been winning over not just critics but also formerly squeamish artistic directors and perennially nervous Broadway producers.
-
Evacuees must provide proof of evacuation, and parents or guardians must remain with their children at all times.
Noun
-
Judge McCaslin weighed in on the laptop issue during Monday's hearing, saying that the prison warden would not allow Murdaugh to keep a laptop in his cell due to safety concerns.
-
McAndrew served as warden of Florida State Prison in the mid-’90s, when Florida still used the electric chair.
Noun
-
The observatory has spent over two decades as a sort of orbital sentinel that scans the cosmos for gamma-ray bursts, ready to quickly point itself at the short-lived — but insanely powerful — space explosions at a moment's notice.
-
Meanwhile, in Ischia Ponte, the Castello Aragonese stands sentinel over a causeway that connects it to the rest of the island.
Noun
-
The congregation started to arrive at the usual time, about half an hour before Mass on a recent Saturday afternoon, the old church slowly filling with the descendants and caretakers of a place of great serenity but also great loss.
-
Jack Nicholson plays the new caretaker of a remote Colorado hotel in the offseason, bringing his family and hoping to overcome writer's block.
Cite this Entry
“Watchman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/watchman. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
