deathwatch

1 of 2

noun (1)

death·​watch ˈdeth-ˌwäch 

: a small insect that makes a ticking sound

especially : deathwatch beetle

deathwatch

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: a vigil kept over the dead or dying

2

: the guard set over a criminal to be executed

Examples of deathwatch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Listing image by Warner Bros. Enlarge Getty Images The EV charging plug deathwatch might need to be kicked into a higher gear. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 29 June 2023

Enlarge Getty Images The EV charging plug deathwatch might need to be kicked into a higher gear. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 29 June 2023

Many other ecosystems are simply dying in place—von Brackel describes the sad plight of Terry Hughes, the Australian coral scientist whose career has become an extended deathwatch as the Great Barrier Reef, the earth’s largest living structure, repeatedly bleaches. —Bill McKibben, The New York Review of Books, 21 Sep. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

death + watch (timepiece); from the superstition that its ticking presages death

Noun (2)

death + watch (vigil)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1646, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1676, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing deathwatch

• deathwatch beetle

Kids Definition

deathwatch

1 of 2 noun

death·​watch ˈdeth-ˌwäch 

: a small insect (as a beetle) that makes a ticking sound

deathwatch

2 of 2 noun

: a watch kept over the dead or dying