Other forms: checks, checked, checking
To check something is to look at it to make sure it is right. You check the time, check your pockets for keys, check that the back door is locked before bed.
It also means to stop something or hold it back: firefighters checked the spread of the blaze, he checked himself before saying more, an illness kept in check by tablets. As a noun it is the inspection itself — a quick check of the tyres, a security check at the gate — and in chess it is the call you make when the king is under attack, one move short of checkmate. A check is also a pattern of squares, as in a check shirt. American English writes check where British English writes cheque for the bank slip, and an American waiter brings you the check, not the bill.
1verbcheckTo look at something to make sure it is correct, safe or working.~8%
“Check the tyres before you set off.”
2verbfindTo find out whether something is true or has happened.~8%
“I'll check with the office and call you back.”
3verbstopTo stop something or slow it down.~33%
“Sandbags checked the flow of water into the cellar.”
4nounactAn act of looking at something to make sure it is right.~8%
“The nurse did a quick check on his blood pressure.”
5nounchessIn chess, a move that attacks the opponent's king.~25%
“He put the white king in check on the ninth move.”
6nounpatternA pattern of squares in two or more colours.~2%
“She wore a coat in a soft grey check.”
7nounprinted(American English) a printed slip ordering a bank to pay money, or the bill in a restaurant.~16%
“Could we have the check, please?”
Shares are an estimate: a language model read 15 sentences found in the wild and placed 12 of them on a sense (3 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.
Also accepted in games: verify
Check began as a shout across a chessboard. Middle English chek came from Old French eschec and Medieval Latin scaccus, which came from Arabic shāh, borrowed in turn from Persian: the king. Calling the king under attack stops the game where it stands, and stopping, holding back and inspecting all grow out of that. Chess and shah are the same word in different clothes.
Middle English
chek
English, today
check
From Middle English chek. From Middle English chek,chekke, borrowed from Old French eschec,eschek,eschac, from Medieval Latin scaccus, borrowed from Arabic شَاه (“king or check at chess, shah”), borrowed from fa-cls شَاه (“king”), from pal 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠, from peo 𐏋 (“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”). Compare stq Schak, Schach, Dutch schaak, German Schach, Danish skak, Swedish schack, Icelandic skák, French échec, Italian scacco. a doublet of chess and shah, from the same source, as well as thig, which derives from the Germanic cognate.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA