checkup

noun

check·​up ˈchek-ˌəp 

plural checkups

: a general examination of someone's or something's condition

… Take your car or minivan to the garage for a thorough checkup.

—Travel Holiday

especially : a periodic medical or dental examination

Family history for breast, prostate and colon cancer is one of the first things any competent doctor asks you about at a checkup.

—Peter Huber

After each checkup, the dentist asks, "Have you been flossing?" The big lie: "Of course."

—Jin Lee

Synonyms of checkup

• inspection
• examination
• audit
• survey
• scrutiny

Examples of checkup in a Sentence

She goes for a checkup every year.

The doctor gave me a checkup.

She brought in her car for a 30,000-mile checkup.

Recent Examples on the Web

My parents never skipped a checkup or a vaccine. —Anamika Shrimali, STAT, 21 Jan. 2026

Part of that effort comes from outreach workers responding to checkup calls and walking the streets in the neighborhoods. —Lauren Linder, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2026

Another tool for fluoride treatment is varnish applied during a dental checkup, which may be provided at free or reduced cost through insurance programs. —Anna Clark, CNN Money, 16 Jan. 2026

Scattered visits to free clinics notwithstanding, Guevara hadn’t had a full medical checkup in years. —Kff Health News, Oc Register, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for checkup

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup
• pickup

Kids Definition

checkup

noun

check·​up ˈchek-ˌəp 

: examination sense 1

a dental checkup

especially : a general physical examination

Medical Definition

checkup

noun

check·​up ˈchek-ˌəp 

: examination

especially : a general physical examination