Words / B1

MON-it-uh/ˈmɒnɪtə/

To monitor is to watch and check over time: monitor progress; monitor blood pressure; monitor the situation. A monitor is also a screen or a person who checks. Check can be once; monitor is repeated. Surveillance is heavier and often secret. Do not use monitor for a single glance at a message. Noun: heart monitor.

Meaning

To watch and check something over a period of time.

Examples

• “Nurses monitored his temperature through the night.”
• “Staff monitored the river levels through the night.”
• “The exam hall had CCTV monitors, which is the screen sense.”

Good to know

monitor + noun over time. Once: check. Secret/heavy: surveillance. Also a screen / a person. Not a single glance.

Near in meaning

watch

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