Watch vs. Clock — What's the Difference?

A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities.

A clock is an instrument to measure or record intervals.

Look at or observe attentively over a period of time

A clock is a device used to measure, verify, keep, and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units: the day, the lunar month, and the year.

Exercise care, caution, or restraint about

An instrument other than a watch for measuring or indicating time, especially a mechanical or electronic device having a numbered dial and moving hands or a digital display.

Remain awake for the purpose of religious observance

A time clock.

A small timepiece worn typically on a strap on one's wrist

A source of regularly occurring pulses used to measure the passage of time, as in a computer.

An act or instance of carefully observing someone or something over a period of time

Any of various devices that indicate measurement, such as a speedometer or a taximeter.

A film or programme considered in terms of its appeal to the public

A biological clock.

A flock of nightingales

The downy flower head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.

To look or observe attentively or carefully; be closely observant

An embroidered or woven decoration on the side of a stocking or sock.

To look and wait expectantly or in anticipation

To time, as with a stopwatch

To act as a spectator; look on

To register or record with a mechanical device

To stay awake at night while serving as a guard, sentinel, or watcher.

(Informal) To strike or hit (someone) forcefully, especially in the face.

To stay alert as a devotional or religious exercise; keep vigil.

To record working hours with a time clock

To look at steadily; observe carefully or continuously

To be measured or registered, especially at a certain speed or rate. Often used with in

To guard, keep surveillance on, or spy on

An instrument that measures or keeps track of time; a non-wearable timepiece.

To observe the course of mentally; keep up on or informed about

(attributive) A common noun relating to an instrument that measures or keeps track of time.

To pay close attention to or be careful about, especially with regard to propriety

(British) The odometer of a motor vehicle.

To tend or take care of (children or a flock of sheep, for example).

(electronics) An electrical signal that synchronizes timing among digital circuits of semiconductor chips or modules.

A portable or wearable timepiece.

The seed head of a dandelion.

The act of guarding and observing someone or something.

A time clock.

A particular time period when guarding is kept.

A CPU clock cycle, or T-state.

A period of wakefulness between the two sleeps of a biphasic sleep pattern (the dead sleep or first sleep and morning sleep or second sleep): the first waking.

(uncountable) A luck-based patience or solitaire card game with the cards laid out to represent the face of a clock.

A person or group of people who guard.

A pattern near the heel of a sock or stocking.

The post or office of a watchman; also, the place where a watchman is posted, or where a guard is kept.

(transitive) To measure the duration of.

(nautical) A group of sailors and officers aboard a ship or shore station with a common period of duty: starboard watch, port watch.

(transitive) To measure the speed of.

(nautical) A period of time on duty, usually four hours in length; the officers and crew who tend the working of a vessel during the same watch. (FM 55–501).

To hit (someone) heavily.

The act of seeing, or viewing, for a period of time.

(slang) To take notice of; to realise; to recognize someone or something.

(ambitransitive) To look at, see, or view for a period of time.

(transgender slang) To identify someone as being transgender.

(transitive) To observe over a period of time; to notice or pay attention.

To falsify the reading of the odometer of a vehicle.

(transitive) To mind, attend, or guard.

To beat a video game.

(transitive) To be wary or cautious of.

(transitive) To ornament (e.g. the side of a stocking) with figured work.

(transitive) To attend to dangers to or regarding.

To make the sound of a hen; to cluck.

(intransitive) To remain awake with a sick or dying person; to maintain a vigil. en

To hatch.

(intransitive) To be vigilant or on one's guard.

A machine for measuring time, indicating the hour and other divisions; in ordinary mechanical clocks for domestic or office use the time is indicated on a typically circular face or dial plate containing two hands, pointing to numbers engraved on the periphery of the face, thus showing the hours and minutes. The works of a mechanical clock are moved by a weight or a spring, and it is often so constructed as to tell the hour by the stroke of a hammer on a bell. In electrical or electronic clocks, the time may be indicated, as on a mechanical clock, by hands, but may also be indicated by direct digital readout, with the hours and minutes in normal Arabic numerals. The readout using hands is often called analog to distinguish it from the digital readout. Some clocks also indicate the seconds. Clocks are not adapted, like the watch, to be carried on the person. Specialized clocks, such as atomic clocks, may be constructed on different principles, and may have a very high precision for use in scientific observations.

(intransitive) To act as a lookout.

A watch, esp. one that strikes.

To serve the purpose of a watchman by floating properly in its place.

The striking of a clock.

To be awake.

A figure or figured work on the ankle or side of a stocking.

To be on the lookout for; to wait for expectantly.

A large beetle, esp. the European dung beetle (Scarabæus stercorarius).

The act of watching; forbearance of sleep; vigil; wakeful, vigilant, or constantly observant attention; close observation; guard; preservative or preventive vigilance; formerly, a watching or guarding by night.

To ornament with figured work, as the side of a stocking.

One who watches, or those who watch; a watchman, or a body of watchmen; a sentry; a guard.

To call, as a hen. See Cluck.

The post or office of a watchman; also, the place where a watchman is posted, or where a guard is kept.

A timepiece that shows the time of day

The period of the night during which a person does duty as a sentinel, or guard; the time from the placing of a sentinel till his relief; hence, a division of the night.

Measure the time or duration of an event or action or the person who performs an action in a certain period of time;

A small timepiece, or chronometer, to be carried about the person, the machinery of which is moved by a spring.

A clock is a device that displays time and is usually placed or mounted.

An allotted portion of time, usually four hour for standing watch, or being on deck ready for duty. Cf. Dogwatch.

A clock refers to a time recording device.

To be awake; to be or continue without sleep; to wake; to keep vigil.

A clock can indicate the source of regular pulsations in a computer.

To be attentive or vigilant; to give heed; to be on the lookout; to keep guard; to act as sentinel.

A clock can represent a device indicating the working hours.

To be expectant; to look with expectation; to wait; to seek opportunity.

To remain awake with any one as nurse or attendant; to attend on the sick during the night; as, to watch with a man in a fever.

To serve the purpose of a watchman by floating properly in its place; - said of a buoy.

To give heed to; to observe the actions or motions of, for any purpose; to keep in view; not to lose from sight and observation; as, to watch the progress of a bill in the legislature.

To tend; to guard; to have in keeping.

A small portable timepiece

A period of time (4 or 2 hours) during which some of a ship's crew are on duty

A purposeful surveillance to guard or observe

The period during which someone (especially a guard) is on duty

A person employed to watch for something to happen

A devotional watch (especially on the eve of a religious festival)

Look attentively;

Follow with the eyes or the mind;

See or watch;

Observe with attention;

Be vigilant, be on the lookout, be on one's guard, be careful;

Observe or determine by looking;

Find out, learn, or determine with certainty, usually by making an inquiry or other effort;

A watch is a portable timepiece designed to be worn.

A watch means a period of vigilance or observation.

A watch is a session of duty or shift.

A watch represents a person's vigilance or alertness.

A watch indicates a small timepiece with a strap.

Both can be, but watches are more commonly passed down.

No, clocks can also stand on surfaces or even be tower clocks.

Yes, both can have digital or analog displays.

Yes, a stopwatch is a specific type of watch for timing events.

They can be powered by batteries, electricity, or mechanical means.

Yes, luxury watches are often seen as status symbols.

While typically stationary, there are portable clocks like travel alarms.

It varies, but many need winding every 24-48 hours.

Absolutely, antique clocks are sought after by collectors.

Yes, while advanced, a smartwatch is still a type of watch.

No, while common, there are also pocket watches.

Yes, some watches show date, track fitness, or even make calls.

The Big Ben in London is a renowned clock tower.

Precision varies by make and model, not necessarily by being a watch or clock.

Depending on the type, it involves adjusting dials, buttons, or touch settings.