watchman
watchman — noun
- watchmansingular
- watchmenplural
1. someone hired to watch over and protect a building or group of buildings, often
someone hired to watch over and protect a building or group of buildings, often during the night
Eliska's uncle works as a night watchman at the textile mill just outside the city.
common collocation: night watchman
Every two hours, the watchman walks around the factory to check all the doors.
The museum watchman locked every gate after the last visitor left at nine o'clock.
Liam became a watchman at the warehouse after he retired from the fire department.
The watchman sat in a small hut by the gate, watching trucks arrive before dawn.
- guard
a general term for anyone protecting a person, place, or thing, not limited to night duty or buildings
- security guard
a modern, professional term for someone employed to protect property, often with training and equipment
- sentry
a soldier who stands guard at a military post; much more specific and formal
用法筆記
Unlike the modern term 'security guard,' watchman often implies a solo worker who patrols a property at night. The word can refer to people of any gender, though historically it described a male worker.