Link Centre Dictionary

observe

ob·serve

UK/əbˈzɜːv/ US/ɒbˈzɜːv/ common

verb

1.

discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of

  • “She detected high levels of lead in her drinking water”
  • “We found traces of lead in the paint”
Synonyms
2.

make mention of

  • “She observed that his presentation took up too much time”
  • “They noted that it was a fine day to go sailing”
Synonyms
3.

observe with care or pay close attention to

  • “Take note of this chemical reaction”
Synonyms
4.

watch attentively

  • “Please observe the reaction of these two chemicals”
5.

show respect towards

  • “honor your parents!”
Synonyms
Antonyms
6.

celebrate, as of holidays or rites

  • “Keep the commandments”
  • “celebrate Christmas”
  • “Observe Yom Kippur”
Synonyms
7.

follow with the eyes or the mind

  • “Keep an eye on the baby, please!”
  • “The world is watching Sarajevo”
  • “She followed the men with the binoculars”
Synonyms
8.

observe correctly or closely

  • “The pianist kept time with the metronome”
  • “keep count”
  • “I cannot keep track of all my employees”
Synonyms
9.

conform one''s action or practice to

  • “keep appointments”
  • “she never keeps her promises”
  • “We kept to the original conditions of the contract”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle French observer, from Old French observer, from Latin observō (“to watch”), from ob- (“before”) + servō (“to keep”), from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to guard”). Cognate with Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐍂𐍅𐌰 (sarwa, “weapons, armour”), Old English searu (“device”).

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.