deathwatch

UK: /ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ/ US: (deth′woch′, -wôch′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

death•watch  (deth′woch′, -wôch′), n. 

1. a vigil beside a dying or dead person.
2. a guard set over a condemned person before execution.
3. Insects Also called death′watch bee′tle. any of several beetles of the family Anobiidae that make a ticking sound as they bore through wood: the sound was once believed to be an omen of death.

• death + watch 1660–70

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

deathwatch / ˈdɛθˌwɒtʃ/ noun

1. a vigil held beside a dying or dead person
2. deathwatch beetle ⇒ a beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum, whose woodboring larvae are a serious pest. The adult produces a rapid tapping sound with its head that was once popularly supposed to presage death