watchdog.

1. A dog kept to alert or protect against intruders.

2. A person or organization that monitors conduct and warns of wrongdoing or failures.

3. A device or program that detects failures such as missing expected activity and can trigger a corrective action.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a watchdog at the gate
• a trained watchdog
• a watchdog’s bark

On the page

The watchdog barked before the latch moved.

She waited for the watchdog to recognize her voice before entering the yard.

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular watchdog; plural watchdogs. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.