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

According to Chahal, this is particularly true for neurodivergent children, turning a routine checkup into a day of stress for the entire family. —Ethan M. Stone, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026

That’s the conclusion of the World Meteorological Organization’s annual climate checkup. —Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 23 Mar. 2026

Abigail Marquez, interim general manager of the Department of Aging, encouraged people to conduct regular checkups on their older loved ones, seniors living with chronic health conditions and individuals taking medications that may be affected by temperature regulation. —City News Service, Daily News, 16 Mar. 2026

At almost every checkup, my older daughter's doctor slipped me a can of formula or a vial of eczema cream. —Deborah Skolnik, Parents, 1 Mar. 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