Check definition
Checked his coat at the door; checked my bags and boarded the plane.
An example of check is a parent strapping a toddler into a high chair.
An example of check is a mark someone would make to show that something on a "to do" list has been completed.
An example of check is what someone writes to pay their monthly car payment.
An example of check is someone making sure their car has enough oil.
Gave the paper a final check.
The condition of the wiring can serve as a check for the level of the seller's home maintenance.
A baggage check.
Heavy rains were a check on the army's advance.
Kept my temper in check; holding agricultural pests in check with sprays.
A dress of pale green check.
Sunlight dried and checked the paint.
Checked the brakes for wear; checked the paper for misspellings.
Checked her facts before speaking; check a spelling in the dictionary.
Checked off each item on the list.
Checked the flow by shutting a valve.
Check an impulse to laugh.
The batter checked his swing, and the pitch was called a ball.
Phoned to check on the departure time; checked into the rumor.
The suspect's story checked out.
The fingerprints checked with the ones on file.
The soldiers rushed into the room but checked when they saw their commander.
A hat check.
Check the accounts.
The accounts check.
Cheap paint may check.
A check experiment.
- to register at a hotel, convention, etc.
- to report, as by presenting oneselfcheck in at the office.
- to mark as verified, examined, etc.
- to settle one's bill and leave a hotel, hospital, etc.
- to add up the prices of purchases and collect the total
- to draw (money) from a bank by check
- to register items to be loaned out, as books from a library
- to die
- to examine the record, character, actions, etc. of; investigate
- in restraint; under control
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of check
- Middle English chek check in chess from Old French eschec from Arabic šāh from Persian king, check shah
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition