name-check

1 of 2

noun

ˈnām-ˌchek 

variants or namecheck or name check

plural name-checks or namechecks or name checks

: a specific and usually public mention or acknowledgment of someone or something by name

It's not surprising that Chekhov gets a namecheck in Marion Bridge, which is playing in a superbly performed production through Aug. 25 at Hudson Village Theatre … . That Chekhov nod comes from boozy, disillusioned actress Agnes (Leni Parker), whose unsuccessful career has included appearing in plays by the Russian master …

—Jim Burke

[Marianne] Williamson began giving her talks in 1983 at the Philosophical Research Society on Los Feliz Boulevard (the nonprofit, which gets a name-check in McWilliam's chapter on the abundant flowering of Southern California occultism, is still in operation).

—Julia Wick

name-check

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly namecheck

name-checked also namechecked; name-checking also namechecking; name-checks also namechecks

transitive verb

: to mention or acknowledge (someone or something) specifically and publicly by name

… he is an avid collector of contemporary art, although he alone turns the pursuit to his singular ends in lyrics that knowingly name-check everyone from Jeff Koons to Jean-Michel Basquiat.

—Guy Trebay

"… I couldn't wait that long for another box of Shipley's," he said, name-checking the local doughnut shop that catered the event.

—Mara Gay

Last year, the show's fans successfully petitioned for McDonald's to bring back its limited-edition Szechuan sauce from 1998 after it was namechecked in an episode.

—Luke Morgan Britton

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1972, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1986, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for name-check

• biotech
• bottleneck
• quarterdeck
• turtleneck
• zapotec
• aztec
• breakneck
• codec
• exec
• mixtec
• paycheck
• pinchbeck