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watchdog

/ˈwɑːt͡ʃˌdɑːɡ/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about watchdog at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A guard dog.
  2. An individual or group that monitors the activities of another entity (such as an individual, corporation, non-profit group, or governmental organization) on behalf of the public to ensure that entity does not behave illegally or unethically.
  3. Ellipsis of watchdog timer.

verb

  1. To perform a function analogous to that of a watchdog; to guard and warn.
  2. To be continuously reset by a watchdog timer.