checkered

adjective check·ered \ ˈche-kərd \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of checkered

: marked by alternation or contrast of fortune

the best album of his checkered career
—Mark Coleman

especially : marked by many problems or failures

trying to prevent discovery of his checkered past

See checkered defined for English-language learners

See checkered defined for kids

Examples of checkered in a Sentence

He has had a checkered career with many ups and downs.

Recent Examples of checkered from the Web

Only 10 cars finished on the lead lap, and 11 cars were out of the race when Busch took the checkered flag.

— anthony andro, USA TODAY, "Kyle Busch wins in Texas to add first trophy to 2018 points lead," 8 Apr. 2018
While some have worked well for their members, others have a checkered history.

— julie appleby, Washington Post, "Trump Administration Rule Paves Way For Association Health Plans," 7 Mar. 2018
For veteran driver Clint Bowyer, Monday’s win sounded (and probably felt a little) like his first checkered flag.

— michelle r. martinelli, For The Win, "Listen to Clint Bowyer's ecstatic reaction to ending 5-year NASCAR winless streak," 28 Mar. 2018
In fact, the Chinese partner itself has a checkered history.

— william clowes, Bloomberg.com, "Never Mind the Mines. In Congo, There’s Cobalt Under the House," 28 Mar. 2018
Bowyer led a race-high 215 of 500 laps and beat Kyle Busch by 1.146 seconds to the checkered flag.

— randy covitz special to the star, kansascity, "From Jayhawks to streak-smashing NASCAR victory, Emporia's Clint Bowyer is hot | The Kansas City Star," 26 Mar. 2018
Vettel held off reigning champion Lewis Hamilton to take the checkered flag in Melbourne, with his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen in third place.

— paul gittings, CNN, "Australian GP: Sebastian Vettel repeats 2017 victory in season-opener," 25 Mar. 2018
The guy with the checkered past (and present) has all kinds of helpful tricks up his sleeve.

— kelsey coleman, Marie Claire, "6 Reasons You *Should* Date the Man Who's a Mess," 27 Aug. 2015
As Harvick walked off with the checkered flag, two things dawned on a newcomer who had been nervous about attending the race: There were African-Americans, Latinos and other minorities among the crowd – too many to count.

— greg moore, azcentral, "Moore: Three days at ISM Raceway show sensory overload NASCAR provides," 11 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'checkered.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of checkered

1656

CHECKERED Defined for English Language Learners

checkered

adjective

Definition of checkered for English Language Learners

: having a pattern made up of squares of different colors
: including good parts and bad parts
: including many problems or failures

CHECKERED Defined for Kids

checkered

adjective check·ered \ ˈche-kərd \

Definition of checkered for Students

: having a pattern made up of squares of different colors

Learn More about checkered

Spanish Central: Translation of checkered Nglish: Translation of checkered for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of checkered for Arabic speakers

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checkered

Definition of checkered

Examples of checkered in a Sentence

Recent Examples of checkered from the Web

First Known Use of checkered

CHECKERED Defined for English Language Learners

checkered

Definition of checkered for English Language Learners

CHECKERED Defined for Kids

checkered

Definition of checkered for Students

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checkered

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CHECKERED Defined for English Language Learners

checkered

Definition of checkered for English Language Learners

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checkered

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