WordNet
v. watch over so as to protect; "We must stand sentinel to protect ourselves"; "The jewels over which they kept guard were stolen" [syn: stand guard, keep guard, stand sentinel]
Usage examples of "stand watch".
But I thought I ought to stand watch on the bombs, in case I decided you were wrong.
Can you round up some guys to stand watch at the power station tonight?
Jim never said nothing, and he never let on to know me, and they took him to the same cabin, and put his own clothes on him, and chained him again, and not to no bed-leg this time, but to a big staple drove into the bottom log, and chained his hands, too, and both legs, and said he warn't to have nothing but bread and water to eat after this till his owner come, or he was sold at auction because he didn't come in a certain length of time, and filled up our hole, and said a couple of farmers with guns must stand watch around about the cabin every night, and a bulldog tied to the door in the daytime.
At the end of every shipsweek, the crewman on duty would waken his or her replacement to stand watch, to monitor the automated systems checks, as required by the owners and by prudence.
The off-watches were to rest in their crowded barracks, hopefully sleeping, so they'd be fit to stand watch later.