watchdog
Protective canine guard
A watchdog is a dog kept to guard property, barking to alert owners of intruders.
The term extends to any person or group that monitors others for misconduct: consumer watchdog groups, a government watchdog agency.
As a verb, to watchdog is to monitor vigilantly: She watchdogged the committee's spending.
Sharp canine vocalization
- bitePierce with teeth
- intruderUnauthorized person present
- DobermanAthletic German guard breed
- RottweilerGerman working dog breed
German shepherd · kennel · trained · alert · territorial · patrol · property · perimeter
One who safeguards others
- sentinelGuard who monitors
- gatekeeperOne controlling entry
- defenderOne who guards another
- custodianGuardian of a place
safeguard · overseer · keeper · steward · vigilance · shield · advocate · champion
Device maintaining steady output
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- auditFormal accounts examination
- supervisionOverseeing people or processes
governance · accountability · transparency · enforcement · inspection · ombudsman · standards · ethics
Devoted to examination
- exposéInvestigative journalism piece
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- reporterOne who gathers news
scoop · leak · source · accountability · newsroom · documentary · inquiry · revelation
bark
Sharp canine vocalization
Rottweiler · German shepherd · kennel · trained · alert · territorial · patrol · property · perimeter · warning
protector
One who safeguards others
- sentinelGuard who monitors
- gatekeeperOne controlling entry
- defenderOne who guards another
custodian · safeguard · overseer · keeper · steward · vigilance · shield · advocate · champion · caretaker
regulator
Device maintaining steady output
- monitoringOngoing observation of something
- complianceAdhering to requirements
- auditFormal accounts examination
supervision · governance · accountability · transparency · enforcement · inspection · ombudsman · standards · ethics · committee
investigative
Devoted to examination
- exposéInvestigative journalism piece
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
reporter · scoop · leak · source · accountability · newsroom · documentary · inquiry · revelation · muckraker
scrutinizer
One who examines closely
- faultfinderOne who criticizes constantly
- monitorDisplay or supervisor
- evaluatorOne who assesses merit
assessor · auditor · skeptic · examiner · analyst · reviewer · dissenter · naysayer · gadfly · nitpicker
- gatekeepersbouncer, doorman, security guard, guard, sentry
- anti-corruptionanti-graft, whistleblower protection, whistleblowers, financial disclosure, conflict of interest
- ethics oversightethics board, ethics committee, ethics officer, ethics code, ethics policy
- Government Reformbudget reform, fiscal reform, government reform, policy reform, regulatory reform
- guard animalsguard llama, guard goose, K-9, German shepherd, Belgian Malinois
- watchdogsoverseer, inspector, monitor, oversight committee, oversight board
watchdogenabler
One who facilitates harmful behavior
rubber stamp · lapdog · intruder · accomplice · threat
watchdoglapdog
Small cuddly canine
rubber stamp · shill · mouthpiece · puppet · stooge
- watchdog groups
- government watchdogBody monitoring state actions
- media watchdogGroup monitoring journalism standards