From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwatchdogwatch‧dog /ˈwɒtʃdɒɡ $ ˈwɑːtʃdɒːɡ, ˈwɒːtʃ-/ noun [countable] 1 BBPGOa person or group of people whose job is to protect the rights of people who buy things and to make sure companies do not do anything illegal or harmful a consumer watchdog2 HBA old-fashioned a guard dog
Examples from the Corpus
watchdog• Moreover, any watchdog needs teeth.• Health Authority watchdogs say although such a case is rare, it is by no means unique.• a consumer watchdog• Water shares spurted on the back of a report by the industry watchdog, Ofwat.• They followed the news bulletins of such groups as Good for Women and formed their own watchdog groups.• Some public watchdogs say the council is dangerously close to a violation of the Open Meeting Law.• Wholesalers and retailers in each state are howling about losing business and state revenue watchdogs are missing tax revenues.• In 1970, Mr Pozsgay joined the Agitprop department - the party's watchdog on ideological purity and the media.• Of the officials who are the watchdogs or the people who raise the challenge?consumer watchdog• The scathing attack from consumer watchdogs comes only months after the introduction of a strict code of practice designed to improve services.• Some consumer watchdogs are concerned that the labels on the bottles aren't clear enough.• The consumer watchdog believes that borrowers are left saddled with massive debt despite believing that they have cleared their loan.• Labour urges consumer watchdog for rail users.From Longman Business Dictionarywatchdogwatch‧dog /ˈwɒtʃdɒgˈwɑːtʃdɒːg, ˈwɒːtʃ-/ noun [countable]LAWORGANIZATIONS an independent organization responsible for making sure that companies in a particular industry or business do not do anything illegalFrance’s stock market watchdog is conducting a routine investigation of trading.This week, the consumer watchdog updated its guidelines on selling white goods. 