graveyard watch

Thân thiện

A security guard begins his graveyard watch at midnight.

Definition

Noun: - A watch or work shift that occurs during the late night hours, typically from midnight until early morning (e.g., 8 a.m.). It is often associated with duty when most people are asleep.

Usage

The term is used to describe a specific period of duty, surveillance, or work, especially in contexts like maritime operations, security, healthcare, or industrial settings. It emphasizes the unsociable and quiet hours of the night.

Examples

• The security guard was assigned the graveyard watch from midnight to 8 a.m.
• Nurses on the graveyard watch must be alert despite the late hour.
• Sailors on the graveyard watch have the quietest duty on the ship.

Advanced Usage

• "to pull/stand/have the graveyard watch": To be scheduled for or to work the late-night shift.
  • He had to pull the graveyard watch three times last week.

Variants and Related Words

• Graveyard shift (n): A more common synonym referring to the same late-night work period.
  • She works the graveyard shift at the factory.
• Night watch (n): A general term for a period of duty or vigilance during the night.
• Lobster trick (n): A dated, informal term for the graveyard shift in some printing and newspaper industries.

Synonyms

• Midnight shift
• Third shift (in a three-shift system)
• Night duty

Related Phrases

• The dead of night: The quietest, darkest part of the night, often associated with the time of a graveyard watch.
  • The alarm sounded in the dead of night during his graveyard watch.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a watch during the night (as from midnight to 8 a.m.)

Từ đồng nghĩa

• middle watch
• midwatch
• night watch