Link Centre Dictionary

watchword

watch·word

UK/ˈwɒt͡ʃwɜː(ɹ)d/ US/ˈwɑˌtʃwɜrd/ uncommon

noun

1.

a slogan used to rally support for a cause

  • “a cry to arms”
  • “our watchword will be”
  • “'”
Synonyms
2.

a secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group

  • “he forgot the password”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English wacche word, wacchworde, morphologically as watch (“guard, sentinel, sentry”) + word.

Related words

Broader terms

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.