Meanings
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1
noun
a person or organization that keeps watch over others or monitors an institution or industry to prevent danger, illegality, abuse, waste, or unfairness
The independent watchdog opened an inquiry into the agency's use of public funds.
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2
noun
a dog kept and trained to guard people or property
A large watchdog barked whenever anyone approached the gate.
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3
noun
in computing, a timer or mechanism that detects a stalled system and triggers a warning or recovery action
The device's watchdog restarts the controller if the software stops responding.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of watch + dog, first naming a dog that keeps guard. By the nineteenth century it was being applied figuratively to people and institutions that monitor others; computing later adopted the same guarding metaphor for timers that detect failures.