Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A dog trained to guard people or property.
- n. One who serves as a guardian or protector against waste, loss, or illegal practices.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A dog kept to watch or guard premises and property.
Wiktionary
- n. a guard dog
- n. a person or organization that monitors and publicizes the behavior of others (individuals, corporations, governments) to discover undesirable activity.
- v. To perform a function analogous to a watchdog.
- v. To guard and warn.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A dog kept to watch and guard premises or property, and to give notice of the approach of intruders.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a guardian or defender against theft or illegal practices or waste
- n. a dog trained to guard property
Etymologies
- From watch and dog. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“But couldn't the Republicans have used the word "watchdog," which is the standard term, or at least found some other gender-neutral expression?”
“I love the term watchdog whilstleblower has a “rat fink” type of conotation and “watchdog” doesn’t we need a movement”
Firedoglake » If the Gnome Is in the Garden, Meet at the Jefferson Memorial at High Noon…
“The UK police watchdog is finally looking into the widespread use of anti-terrorism stop-and-search powers by cops.”
“The British food watchdog is asking fast-food restaurants to add calorie-counts to their menus -- and want to adopt a set of "traffic light" labels that indicate dangerously high levels of salt, fat, sugar (or, presumably, eyeball-gnawing maggots, see post below).”
“A government bailout watchdog is now reviewing the transaction, triggered by a request from Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican.”
The Huffington Post: White House Calling The Shots On GM IPO: Reuters
“WASHINGTON — A government watchdog is investigating government-owned GMAC Mortgage after a company employee admitted to approving thousands of foreclosures without reading the paperwork.”
The Huffington Post: Bailout Watchdog Investigating Alleged Foreclosure Fraud
“Japan's market watchdog is looking into allegations of illegal stock trading on a wide scale.”
The Wall Street Journal: Japan's Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish Stock Regulator
“The Wall Street watchdog is a nonprofit organization.”
The Wall Street Journal: Internal Finra Probe of Pay, Investments Finds No Mishandling
“Getty Images The experience of a handful of countries such as Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, United States, and recently Hungary, demonstrates that a home-grown, independent fiscal watchdog is best equipped to conduct real-time surveillance of fiscal policy-making.”
“Your example of the FDA as watchdog is outside the domain of aerospace, so it's NFG.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘watchdog’.
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metaphoric references to dogs
As an ongoing part of my project, Dogs in Metaphor and Idiom, Illustrated, (www.metaphordogs.org) I am continually adding terms. If you know a term that fi...
dog, alpha male, at bay, bark, bird dog, bitch, bitchin, bloodhound, bulldog, canaille, canines, cerberus and 131 more...
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AFET - diplomacy
broker a peace ac..., client state, deadlocked peace ..., embassy, freeze, goodwill ambassador, hinterland, interfere in dome..., intervene personally, maintain technica..., mediation, no business as usual and 670 more...
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dogs and their relatives
dog dogs and more dogs anything
I can think of ,canids and their
relatives
my favourite African wild dog
all have 42 teethaffenpinscher, akita, alan, aland, alant, alopecoid, apso, bandog, barbet, basenji, basset, bawtie and 355 more...
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WF - nominal compounds (figurative)
An extensive list I have been working on for quite some time. Feel free to add more of the kind if you miss any.
brainstorming, upside, downside, goldplating, bikeshedding, mudslinging, downgrading, headhunter, streamlining, mainstreaming, gerrymandering, frontloading and 503 more...
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POL - cool compounds
scaremongering, facelifting, mudslinging, gerrymandering, goldplating, muscleflexing, headway, pinpointing, hobby-horse, barnstorming, grandfathering, finger-wagging and 31 more...
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Uses for Gooses
Ruzuzu requests; we jump to serve.
torchecul, tail-napkin, cleaning chimneys, making someone hi..., Maverick's best f..., nursery rhyme pur..., delicious foie gr..., grey vodka, bumping, The Royall and Mo..., steed for Aphrodite, fat-providers for... and 14 more...
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Verbal palette?
Words I like to use or would like to use in the near future. Totally random.
convalescence, bellibone, persnickety, contiguous, pabulum, dummary, preliminary, pristine, funny fuse, dolt, shitless, nebulous and 50 more...
Tweets
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