watchdog
noun /ˈwɒtʃdɒɡ/
/ˈwɑːtʃdɔːɡ/
- a person or group of people whose job is to check that companies are not doing anything illegal or ignoring people’s rights
- She is a member of the consumer watchdog for transport in London and Southern England.
- ‘Ofwat’ is the water industry watchdog in Britain.
CultureIn Britain the word watchdog is often used of organizations set up by the government to make sure that the actions of former public companies and institutions which became owned by private companies in the 1980s and 1990s are both legal and fair.Extra Examples- a consumer watchdog for transport
- an independent watchdog for civil rights
- an unofficial watchdog of pesticide use
- reporters who do the real work of watchdog journalism
- the government's official watchdog on nature conservation
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- consumer
- environmental
- financial
- …
- act as
- be
- agency
- body
- group
- …
- watchdog for
- watchdog of
- watchdog on
- …
- a dog that is kept to guard a building synonym guard dog