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Glite Dictionary
dogwatch

dogwatch

1 9.9
A short evening watch on a ship usually from 4 to 6 or 6 to 8 pm
  • noun
  • /ˈdɔɡˌwɑtʃ/
  • Jargon
: guardia
  • During the dogwatch, the crew members took turns keeping an eye on the ship.

Examples

  • My favorite time during the cruise was the dogwatch, when the sun began to set.

  • Dogwatch!

    In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

  • Dogwatch, night after the storm, I'm looking in the skipper's skylight.

    White Squall (1996)

  • We were running surface with me standing dogwatch... ...when all of a sudden, I sight what first looks like a Japanese submarine... ...but turns out to be a raft with a man and woman lashed aboard... ...and a distress signal flying.

    South Sea Woman (1953)

  • He was assigned to the dogwatch, ensuring everything was secure before the night shift.

Synonyms

watch
vsdogwatch
488 4.2

A time when people stay awake to guard or look for danger

is a short shipboard duty period in the early evening at set hours

Surface Forms

dogwatch singular
dogwatches plural

Morphology

dogwatch = dog + watch (opaque) = dog + watch

Although composed of 'dog' + 'watch', the term has a specialized nautical meaning (a specific split evening shift) not deducible by an average learner from the components.

Etymology

Dogwatch comes from the two simple parts dog and watch and names the two short evening watches on a ship. One helpful story says the watch was 'cut' so the crew could change their order and everyone would take turns, and another says it was like a 'dog's bite' — a small, short watch, so a dogwatch today is the short watch between about 4–6 pm or 6–8 pm.