51Թ

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View synonyms for

deathwatch

[ deth-woch, -wawch ]

noun

  1. a vigil beside a dying or dead person.
  2. a guard set over a condemned person before execution.
  3. Also called deathwatch beetle. any of several beetles of the family Anobiidae that make a ticking sound as they bore through wood: the sound was once believed to be an omen of death.


deathwatch

/ ˈɛθˌɒʃ /

noun

  1. a vigil held beside a dying or dead person
  2. deathwatch beetle
    a beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, whose woodboring larvae are a serious pest. The adult produces a rapid tapping sound with its head that was once popularly supposed to presage death See also anobiid
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of deathwatch1

First recorded in 1660–70; death + watch
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Along with decrepit presidents and creepy deathwatches around senators and Supreme Court justices, chaotic clown-show debates over fiscal policy are part of what you get when a democracy becomes a gerontocracy.

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An attention-grabbing quote, but it's merely punching up an ancient opinion because the deathwatch for "conventional TV," i.e. cable and broadcast, has been going on for decades.

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Senate leads to other unsavory spectacles, such as the "judicial deathwatch."

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The Economist says that the Amazon is on “deathwatch. ”

From

He said the church was investigating the cause and "how extensive the problem might be because the deathwatch beetle is certainly involved".

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