: to keep vigil as a devotional exercise
: to be awake during the night
: to be attentive or vigilant
: the act of keeping awake to guard, protect, or attend
: the state of being wakeful
: a wake over a dead body
: a simple series of words or numerals (such as the names of persons or objects)
: an official roster : roll
: catalog, checklist
: to make a list of : enumerate
: to include on a list : register
: to place (oneself) in a specified category
: to tilt to one side
: to cause to list
: a deviation from the vertical : tilt
: a band or strip of material: such as
: listel
: selvage
: to cut away a narrow strip from the edge of
: to prepare or plant (land) in ridges and furrows with a lister
: please, suit
: wish, choose
: inclination, craving
: listen
: to listen to : hear
A watch list is a list of securities that regulators, brokerages, research firms, or other entities are interested in monitoring.
Watch lists can be good or bad. An investor can start a watch list, for example, of stocks that he or she wants to keep current on and receive news alerts about.
For example, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch evaluate companies, countries, states and other entities and assign a creditworthiness rating. These evaluations involve reviewing a company’s competitive environment, financial performance and management ability. When the ratings agency has concerns about a company in light of its current rating and wants to see how the company performs for a while before changing the company’s credit rating, it puts the company on a watch list. This means the agency may lower the company's credit rating.
Being placed on a watch list can be harmful to a company’s shareholders and lenders because it is generally a predecessor to receiving a lower credit rating, regulatory investigation or other significant negative event. As mentioned, however, being placed on a watch list can also be a benign event.
What made you want to look up watch list? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test your knowledge of words related to the season of longer days and vacations.
Take the quiz
Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!
Take the quiz
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Take the quiz
Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.
Play the game
