watching
noun
Simple meaning
the action of carefully looking at something
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wahchingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɑtʃɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of observing; taking a patient look
“Hours of patient watching finally rewarded us with a glimpse of the owl.”
The act of one who watches.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of observing; taking a patient look
Used this way, watching is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
“Hours of patient watching finally rewarded us with a glimpse of the owl.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use watching
- “I enjoy watching movies with my family on Friday nights.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
A close observer.
Engaged in or accustomed to close observation.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Paying excessive attention to the clock (in anticipation of stopping work).
Watching for fires started by bombs that dropped from the sky.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: observing
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “watching” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.