Etimology
From Middle English chek, chekke, borrowed from Old French eschek, eschec, eschac, from Medieval Latin scaccus, borrowed from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king or check at chess, shah”), borrowed from Classical Persian شَاه (šāh, “king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /šāh/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /xšāyaθiya/, “king”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kšáyati (“he rules, he has power over”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to gain power over, gain control over”). All English senses developed from the chess sense. Compare Saterland Frisian Schak, Schach, Dutch schaak, German Schach, Danish skak, Swedish schack, Icelandic skák, French échec, Italian scacco. See chess and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”), from the same source.
noun
check (plural checks)
An inspection or examination.
A control; a limit or stop.
(chess) A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece. [from 14th c.]
(US) A mark (especially a checkmark: ✓) used as an indicator.
(US) An order to a bank to pay money to a named person or entity.
(US) A bill, particularly in a restaurant.
(contact sports) A maneuver performed by a player to take another player out of the play.
A token used instead of cash in gaming machines, or in gambling generally.
A lengthwise separation through the growth rings in wood.
A mark, certificate, or token by which errors may be prevented, or a thing or person may be identified.
(falconry) The forsaking by a hawk of its proper game to follow other birds. [from 15th c.]
A small chink or crack.
Examples
I don't know if she will be there, but it's worth a check.
checks and balances
The castle moat should hold the enemy in check.
a remarkable check to the first progress of Christianity
Synonyms: tick, checkmark
Norton had made a neat, lawyerly check beside each of the items he and Billy had picked up—half a dozen or so, including the milk and a six-pack of Coke.
Synonym: cheque
I was not carrying cash, so I wrote a check for the amount.
Synonyms: bill, cheque
I summoned the waiter, paid the check, and hurried to leave.
The hockey player gave a good hard check to obtain the puck.
Liverpool had been reduced to 10 men in the 88th minute, Ibrahima Konaté collecting a second yellow card for a check on Kai Havertz.
[…] the statute prohibits a machine which dispenses checks or tokens for replay […]
a check given for baggage
a return check on a railroad
Related words
hyponyms
bad check
bed check
body check
bugcheck, bug check
cashier's check
counter check
discovered check
double check
gut check
hot check
rain check
reality check
revealed check
shoulder check
signal check
stick check
teller's check
traveler's check
Etimology
From Middle English chekken, partly from Old French eschequier and partly from the noun (see above).
verb
check (third-person singular simple present checks, present participle checking, simple past and past participle checked)
(transitive) To inspect; to examine.
(transitive) To verify the accuracy of a text or translation, usually making some corrections (proofread) or many (copyedit).
(transitive, US, often used with "off") To mark items on a list (with a checkmark or by crossing them out) that have been chosen for keeping or removal or that have been dealt with (for example, completed or verified as correct or satisfactory).
(transitive) To control, limit, or halt.
(transitive) To verify or compare with a source of information.
(transitive) To leave in safekeeping.
(transitive) To leave with a shipping agent for shipping.
(street basketball, transitive) To pass or bounce the ball to an opponent from behind the three-point line and have the opponent pass or bounce it back to start play.
(sports, transitive) To disrupt another player with the stick or body to obtain possession of the ball or puck.
(poker, transitive) To announce that one is remaining in a hand without betting.
(chess, transitive) To make a move which puts an adversary's king in check; to put in check.
(transitive) To chide, rebuke, or reprove.
(nautical) To slack or ease off, as a brace which is too stiffly extended.
To crack or gape open, as wood in drying; or to crack in small checks, as varnish, paint, etc.
(transitive) To make checks or chinks in; to cause to crack.
(intransitive, with at) To make a stop; to pause.
(obsolete) To clash or interfere.
To act as a curb or restraint.
(falconry) To turn, when in pursuit of proper game, and fly after other birds.
Examples
Check the oil in your car once a month.
Check whether this page has a watermark.
Synonyms: check off, tick, tick off, cross off, strike off
Antonym: uncheck
Check the items on the list that interest you.
Check off the items that you've checked .
Check the correct answer to each question.
Synonyms: curtail, restrain; see also Thesaurus:curb
Check your enthusiasm during a negotiation.
so many clogs to check and retard the headlong course of violence and oppression
She was about to retort but something checked the words on her tongue.
Check your data against known values.
Check your hat and coat at the door.
Check your bags at the ticket counter before the flight.
He checked the ball and then proceeded to perform a perfect layup.
That basket doesn't count—you forgot to check!
Synonyms: tackle, trap, attack
The hockey player checked the defenceman to obtain the puck.
Tom didn't think he could win, so he checked.
After I checked my opponent with a pawn, he resigned immediately.
The good king, his master, will check him for it.
The sun checks timber.
The mind, once jaded by an attempt above its power, either is disabled for the future, or else checks at any vigorous undertaking ever after.
For if it [Loue] checke once with businesse, it troubleth Mens fortunes.
It [his presence] checks too strong upon me.
And like the haggard, check at every feather That comes before his eye.
interjection
check
An expression showing that a requirement has been satisfied.
An expression that indicates that the speaker wishes to pay the bill (e.g. in a restaurant).
Examples
Keys? Check. Batteries? Check. We are all ready to go!
Etimology
By shortening from chequer, from Old French eschequier (“chessboard”), from Medieval Latin scaccarium, ultimately from the same Persian root as above.
noun
check (plural checks)
(textiles, usually pluralized) A pattern made up of a grid of squares of alternating colors; a checkered pattern.
Any fabric woven with such a pattern.
Examples
The tablecloth had red and white checks.
One of her female followers, had made a very elegant piece of check. The Friend, being at her house, on a visit, the lady shewed the check to her, and as evidence of devotion to her leader, proposed presenting her with a pattern off the piece for her own use.
verb
check (third-person singular simple present checks, present participle checking, simple past and past participle checked)
(transitive) To mark with a check pattern.
adjective
check (not comparable)
(heraldry, rare, possibly only as a printing error) Checky, i.e. chequy.
Examples
CHECKY, [...] Checky, according to Colombiere, is one of the most noble and ancient figures [...] Checky is always composed of metal, and colour. [...] So that if that be or, and the next gules, the house or family is said to bear check, or, and gules. When the whole shield is not chequered , but only the chief, a bend, cross, or the like, the number of ranges should be expressed.
He died about 1270; and his son, Sir Robert, assisted the brave Sir William Wallace, and died in 1800. BOYD ARMS. Azure, a fesse check, argent et gules.