Noun: watchdog
Pronunciation: (wo’ch,do’g)
Watchdog meaning:
- A dog trained to guard property.
- One who guards against loss, waste, theft or undesirable practices.
A good watchdog barks at things that are suspicious.
The auditor is a watchdog and not a bloodhound.
It seems like she is kind of a recent convert to being the fiscal watchdog.
The pack slumbered and only a few watchdogs rattled their chains.
And journalism itself has changed. News organizations and some journalists have transformed from their traditional role as watchdogs of power into institutions of power themselves with an ability, indeed, a susceptibility, to abuse that power.
It’s about our elections enforcement agency. It’s about our watchdog agencies, and whether we want to maintain their integrity or whether we want influence to be melded into their decisions.
The most important role is for people who know what it’s like on the ground. Congress intended for the public to act as a watchdog.
Labradors are lousy watchdogs. They usually bark when there is a stranger about, but it is an expression of unmitigated joy at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning.
Maybe athletes and others in sports got a free ride for too long. Maybe it’s good that they’re being treated like everyone else in the world. One of the major roles of journalism is to be a watchdog of big business and big government and big celebrities.