check

1 of 3

verb

ˈchek 

checked; checking; checks

transitive verb

1

a

: to inspect, examine, or look at appraisingly or appreciatively

—usually used with out or over

The doctors checked him over for injuries.

checking out new cars

And so no, I won't help you to find a way to check out women in front of your wife.

—Amy Dickinson

b

: to compare with a source, original, or authority : verify

needs to check her facts

c

: to look at (something) to obtain information

checking a watch to see the time

check a map/schedule

d

: to look or reach into (something) to find what is there

Harry glanced around at Fred, who was looking anxious and checking his pockets.

—J. K. Rowling

e

: to access (email, voicemail, etc.) to find out if there are messages

kept checking her voice mail throughout the day

f

: to mark with a check as examined, verified, or satisfactory

—often used with off

checked off each item

2

a

: to slow or bring to a stop : brake

hastily checked the impulse

b

: to block the progress of (someone, such as a hockey player)

3

: to leave or accept for safekeeping in a checkroom

check a coat

4

a

: to consign (something, such as luggage) to a common carrier from which one has purchased a passenger ticket

checked our bags before boarding

b

: to ship or accept for shipment under such a consignment

5

a

: to restrain or diminish the action or force of : control

tried to thwart or check our purposes in the legislature

b

: to slack or ease off (a rope) and then belay again

6

: to mark into squares : checker

check the cloth

7

: to put (a chess king) in check

8

: to make checks or chinks : cause to crack

the sun checks timber

9

chiefly dialectal : rebuke, reprimand

intransitive verb

1

a

: to investigate conditions

checked on the passengers' safety

b

: to prove to be consistent or truthful

The description checks with the photograph.

—often used with out

The story checked out.

c

: to look at or in something to see or find what is there

check for messages on a cell phone

2

a

of a dog : to stop in a chase especially when scent is lost

b

: to halt through caution, uncertainty, or fear : stop

The train checked with a jolt …

—B. A. Williams

3

: to draw a check on a bank

4

: to waive the right to initiate the betting in a round of poker

5

: crack, split

Drying wood can cause it to check.

check

2 of 3

noun

1

a

: examination

a quick check of the engine

b

: the act of testing or verifying

making a check on the data

also : the sample or unit used for testing or verifying

c

: inspection, investigation

a loyalty check on government employees

d

: a standard for testing and evaluation : criterion

2

: a written order directing a bank to pay money as instructed : draft

Do you want to pay in cash, by check, or by credit card?

3

: one that arrests, limits, or restrains : restraint

… against all checks, rebukes, and manners, I must advance …

—William Shakespeare

4

a

: a sudden stoppage of a forward course or progress : arrest

The outbreak of war in 1939 gave a sudden check to the sculptor's work.

—Herbert Read

b

: a checking of an opposing player (as in ice hockey)

5

: a sudden pause or break in a progression

the invaders coming in without a check

6

a

: a slip indicating the amount due : bill

Ask the waiter for the check.

b

: a ticket or token showing ownership or identity or indicating payment made

a baggage check

c

: a counter in various games

7

: a mark typically ✓ placed beside an item to show it has been noted, examined, or verified

8

: exposure of a chess king to an attack from which he must be protected or moved to safety

with his king in check

9

a

: a pattern in squares that resembles a checkerboard

bordered her plain shower curtain with a check in coordinating bathroom colors

b

: a fabric woven or printed with such a design

Fashionable checks come in all sizes and colors in both twill and square weaves.

10

: crack, break

11

archaic : reprimand, rebuke

checkless

ˈchek-ləs 

adjective

check

3 of 3

interjection

—used to express assent or agreement

Phrases

check into

1

: to check in at

check into a hotel

2

: investigate

The police are checking into his alibi.

check that

informal

—used to take back or correct a previous statement

"Sir, I don't know why but there must be a foot or two of water coming down Claiborne. No, check that—three feet."

—Christopher Cooper and Robert Block

check up on

: investigate

check up on a possible investment

in check

: under restraint or control

trying to keep his emotions in check

Synonyms

Verb

• accord
• agree
• answer
• chord
• cohere
• coincide
• comport
• conform
• consist
• correspond
• dovetail
• fit
• go
• harmonize
• jibe
• rhyme
• rime
• sort
• square
• tally

Noun

• bill
• tab

Choose the Right Synonym for check

restrain, check, curb, bridle mean to hold back from or control in doing something.

restrain suggests holding back by force or persuasion from acting or from going to extremes.

restrained themselves from laughing

check implies restraining or impeding a progress, activity, or impetus.

trying to check government spending

curb suggests an abrupt or drastic checking.

learn to curb your appetite

bridle implies keeping under control by subduing or holding in.

bridle an impulse to throw the book down

Examples of check in a Sentence

Verb

Make sure to check your spelling.

She checked her makeup in the mirror.

We should check the equipment to make sure that it's working properly.

The guards checked my passport.

He checked his watch and saw that it was almost noon.

I'll just check the map to see where we are.

I'll check the newspaper to see when the movie starts.

If you're looking for a spoon, check the top drawer.

I checked his office but he wasn't there.

If you're looking for the umbrella, check in the closet.

Noun

Please give the schedule a check to see if the times are correct.

I gave the ingredients list a quick check to see if the cereal contained any sugar.

She ran a quick check of the computer to make sure it was working properly.

The police ran a check on the license plate and found out that the car had been stolen.

He was penalized for an illegal check.

He made out the check to me and signed it, and I deposited it in my account.

Do you want to pay in cash, by check, or by credit card?

a fabric with a blue and yellow check

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Buy with a Side of Volatility Lululemon checks nearly every box: strong growth, solid profitability, and a fortified balance sheet, with the only drawback being its susceptibility during market downturns. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025

The deputy, who also was not identified, was taken to a hospital to be checked for possible head injuries and was last reported in good condition. —Brian Bell, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 June 2025

Noun

Rather than simply writing a check, the musician has created a multimedia experience that educates audiences while generating substantial funding. —Greg Licholai Md, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

Ritter had pushed for a visible method of relief and so checks for $250 per year will be sent to lower-income households with children. —Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English cheken, checken "to put an opponent's king in check, stop, block," probably derivative of chek, chekke "announcement in chess that an opponent's king is in check, assault, adverse event" — more at check entry 2

Note: A French source is possible but uncertain. In the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, the etymology of this verb cites "Old French eschequier, eschecquer" and "Old Northern French eskekier," without specification of sources. A form eskieka occurs in the Picard version (manuscript P) of the Old French narrative poem Guillaume d'Angleterre, but the meaning is not clear. Dictionnaire du Moyen Français has a verb eschequer with the meanings "go off, go away" (déguerpir) and "avoid, avert" (éviter) that appears to have no relation to chess.

Noun

Middle English chek, chekke "announcement in chess that an opponent's king is in check, assault, act, feat, incident, adverse event, checkered design in heraldry," borrowed from Anglo-French eschec "situation of being in check in chess, (in plural escheks, eschez "game of chess"), going back to continental Old French eschés "chess pieces," earlier eschac, plural eschas, borrowed from Arabic šāh "king in chess," borrowed from Persian, "king in chess, king," going back to Middle Persian, going back to Old Persian xšāyaθiyā "king, sovereign," derivative from the verbal base xšāy- "rule, have power, possess," going back to dialectal Indo-European *tkeH-, whence also Avestan xšaiiaθā "you (plural) have power," Sanskrit kṣáyati "(s/he) rules, possesses"

Note: The older senses in approximate historical order are 8, 4, 5, 3, 11. Sense 1 is a derivative of the verb check entry 1, sense 1. Sense 2 developed from the earlier use of check to refer to the counterfoil of a bank draft, meant to be a restraint on forgery. Senses 6a and b (the former an Americanism) appear to have developed from this sense. Sense 9 is perhaps short for checker entry 1. — In Old French the initial \sh\ ([ʃ]) of the Arabic word—whether borrowed directly or through mediation (Spanish jaque?)—is reflected as \ch\ ([tʃ]) preceded by an epenthetic vowel; it hence joins words with initial [sk] either inherited from Latin or taken from Frankish (Old Low Franconian) at an earlier date. The change of vowel (eschac > eschec) may be owed to association with homonymous Old French eschec "booty, plunder," of Frankish origin, or, alternatively, simple assimilation to words in which historical <a> was regularly raised to <e>. — The Indo-Iranian verb traced here to *tkeH- has traditionally been compared to Greek ktáomai, ktâsthai "to get, obtain, acquire," ktêsis "acquisition, possession," etc., though the lack of harmony in the formations is problematic. Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2. Auflage (Wiesbaden, 2001) attributes ktáomai to a denominal derivative of a noun *tk-eh₂ "obtainment, acquisition," and sees a completely different origin for xšāy- (ultimately from the verbal base *h₃eku̯- "catch sight of, envisage").

Interjection

derivative of check entry 2

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 7

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 8

Interjection

1922, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing check

• back-check
• bed check
• blank check
• blank check company
• body check
• bum check
• cashier's check
• certified check
• check back
• check back with
• check box
• check in
• check in with
• check it out
• check mark
• check off
• check off on
• check on
• check out
• check over
• check/take/feel someone's pulse
• check through
• check valve
• coat check
• coat-check/hat-check girl
• counter check
• cross-check
• cut a check
• double check
• fact-check
• gut check
• hook check
• in check
• keep a close check on
• keep/hold in check
• name check
• perpetual check
• pick up the tab/bill/check
• put a check on
• rain check
• reality check
• rubber check
• security check
• shepherd's check
• sound check
• spell check
• spot-check
• traveler's check

Rhymes for check

• beck
• breck
• cheque
• czech
• deck
• fleck
• keck
• mech
• neck
• peck
• reck
• sec

Kids Definition

check

1 of 2 noun

ˈchek 

1

: the exposing of a chess king to attack

2

: a sudden stopping of progress

3

: something that delays, stops, or holds back : restraint

4

: examination sense 1, investigation

5

: a written order telling a bank to pay out money from a person's or company's account to the one named on the order

pay a bill by check

cash a check

6

a

: a ticket or token that shows that the bearer has a claim to something

a baggage check

b

: a slip of paper showing the amount due : bill

7

a

: a pattern of squares

b

: a fabric with such a design

8

: a mark ✓ placed beside an item to show it has been noted

check

2 of 2 verb

1

: to put a chess king in check

2

a

: to bring to a stop

to check an impulse

b

: to come to a stop

3

: to hold back : restrain, curb

checked her temper

4

a

: to make sure that something is correct or satisfactory

check your blood pressure

check it out with a teacher

b

: to inspect, examine, or look at

checking out new cars

checked over the damage

5

: to mark with a check

check the first item

6

: to mark with squares : checker

7

: to leave or accept for safekeeping or for shipment

check baggage

8

: to be the same on every point : tally

Etymology

Noun

Middle English chek "check (in chess), attack," from early French eschec (same meaning), from Arabic shāh "check (in chess)," from a Persian word meaning literally "king" — related to checker, chess

Legal Definition

check

noun

1

: something that limits or restrains see also checks and balances

2

: a written order signed by its maker directing a bank to pay a specified sum to a named person or to that person's order on demand see also negotiable instrument compare draft

— bank check

: a check drawn by a bank on its deposits in another bank

— cashier's check

: a check drawn by a bank on its own funds and signed by the cashier or another bank official

— certified check

: a check certified to be good by the bank upon which it is drawn by the signature of usually the cashier or paying teller with the word certified or accepted across the face of the check

— NSF check Not Sufficient Funds

: a check drawn on an account with insufficient funds from which to make payment