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Check   /tʃɛk/   Listen
verb
Check  v. t.  (past & past part. checked; pres. part. checking)  
1.
(Chess) To make a move which puts an adversary's piece, esp. his king, in check; to put in check.
2.
To put a sudden restraint upon; to stop temporarily; to hinder; to repress; to curb. Hence, (Ice Hockey) To obstruct the motion of an opposing player by contacting him with one's body. "So many clogs to check and retard the headlong course of violence and oppression."
3.
To verify, to guard, to make secure, by means of a mark, token, or other check; to distinguish by a check; to put a mark against (an item) after comparing with an original or a counterpart in order to secure accuracy. Hence, To compare with an original or with some standard, to insure correctness; as, to check an account; to check with a supervisor about procedures.
4.
To chide, rebuke, or reprove. "The good king, his master, will check him for it."
5.
(Naut.) To slack or ease off, as a brace which is too stiffly extended.
6.
To make checks or chinks in; to cause to crack; as, the sun checks timber.
7.
To leave (something) in the temporary custody of another; as, to check baggage; to check one's firearms at the door; to check one's coat at the cloakroom.
8.
To accept (something) for temporary custody from another; as, to check a customer's baggage; to check a customer's coat.
9.
To make a checkered pattern upon.
Synonyms: To restrain; curb; bridle; repress; control; hinder; impede; obstruct; interrupt; tally; rebuke; reprove; rebuff.



Check  v. i.  
1.
To make a stop; to pause; with at. "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."
2.
To clash or interfere. (R.)
3.
To act as a curb or restraint. "It (his presence) checks too strong upon me."
4.
To crack or gape open, as wood in drying; or to crack in small checks, as varnish, paint, etc.
5.
(Falconry) To turn, when in pursuit of proper game, and fly after other birds. "And like the haggard, check at every feather That comes before his eye."



noun
Check  n.  
1.
(Chess) A word of warning denoting that the king is in danger; such a menace of a player's king by an adversary's move as would, if it were any other piece, expose it to immediate capture. A king so menaced is said to be in check, and must be made safe at the next move.
2.
A condition of interrupted or impeded progress; arrest; stop; delay; as, to hold an enemy in check. "Which gave a remarkable check to the first progress of Christianity." "No check, no stay, this streamlet fears."
3.
Whatever arrests progress, or limits action; an obstacle, guard, restraint, or rebuff. "Useful check upon the administration of government." "A man whom no check could abash."
4.
A mark, certificate, or token, by which, errors may be prevented, or a thing or person may be identified; as, checks placed against items in an account; a check given for baggage; a return check on a railroad.
5.
A written order directing a bank or banker to pay money as therein stated. See Bank check, below.
6.
A woven or painted design in squares resembling the patten of a checkerboard; one of the squares of such a design; also, cloth having such a figure.
7.
(Falconry) The forsaking by a hawk of its proper game to follow other birds.
8.
Small chick or crack.
Bank check, a written order on a banker or broker to pay money in his keeping belonging to the signer.
Check book, a book containing blank forms for checks upon a bank.
Check hook, a hook on the saddle of a harness, over which a checkrein is looped.
Check list, a list or catalogue by which things may be verified, or on which they may be checked.
Check nut (Mech.), a secondary nut, screwing down upon the primary nut to secure it.
Check valve (Mech.), a valve in the feed pipe of a boiler, or other conduit, to prevent the return of the feed water or other fluid.
To take check, to take offense. (Obs.)
Synonyms: Hindrance; setback; interruption; obstruction; reprimand; censure; rebuke; reproof; repulse; rebuff; tally; counterfoil; counterbalance; ticket; draft.



adjective
Check  adj.  Checkered; designed in checks.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Check" Quotes from Famous Books



... They delighted to slaughter even creatures for which they had no use. Out of heedlessness, they trod upon the worms and the frogs, and killed them without caring for the pain and suffering which they caused. At last the animals made up their minds to try to find out some means to check the slaughter of the ...
— The Magic Speech Flower - or Little Luke and His Animal Friends • Melvin Hix

... wealth and enormous power. I'm going to run them down yet. You've helped on this, Officer Burke. If you can do more and get at the men higher up—there's not a mention of their location in all of Blanche's accounts, not a single check book—then, you will get a big reward from the Department of Justice. For Uncle Sam is not sleeping with the enemy inside ...
— Traffic in Souls - A Novel of Crime and Its Cure • Eustace Hale Ball

... hesitation in rescuing Edith and letting the other two sink out of his life. The character is not unusual, nor the situation uncommon. What is a woman to do? Her very virtues are enemies of her peace; if she appears as a constant check and monitor, she repels; if she weakly acquiesces, the stream will flow over both of them. The ...
— Baddeck and That Sort of Thing • Charles Dudley Warner

... gelding be: if you check or chide He stumbles at once and you're out of the hunt; For three hundred gentlemen, able to ride, On hunters accustomed to bear the brunt, Accustomed to bear the brunt, Are after the runnable stag, the stag, The runnable stag with his kingly crop Brow, bay and tray and three ...
— The Home Book of Verse, Vol. 3 (of 4) • Various

... heavy sea on and the ship rolling and pitching all the time like a merry-go-round at Barnet Fair. The governor is no good; and, though Grummet or Links have their grip on the throttle valve all the while to check the steam, and I've every stoker and oiler on duty, the bearings are getting that heated that I'm afraid of the shaft breaking at any moment. Full speed, sir? Why, we can't do it, sir, we ...
— The Ghost Ship - A Mystery of the Sea • John C. Hutcheson


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