CHECK
What does "CHECK" mean?
To examine something to make sure it is correct, safe, or in order.
Meanings
- To verify, inspect, or confirm the state of something. Let me check whether the door is locked.
- To stop or restrain the progress of something. Sandbags checked the flow of the rising river.
- A move in chess that directly threatens the opponent's king. She announced check and reached for her queen.
- A written order to a bank to pay money; a cheque (chiefly US spelling). He paid the rent with a personal check.
- A pattern of squares, as on a chessboard or fabric. She wore a shirt in red and white check.
Did you know?
- 'Check', 'chess', 'cheque', 'checkmate' and the checkered flag all descend from the Persian word 'shah', meaning 'king' - they radiate from the chessboard warning that the king is in danger.
Word origin
From Old French 'eschec', via Arabic from Persian 'shah' (king) - the cry warning that the king in chess is under attack; nearly all modern senses radiate from that one chess move.
Remember it
CHECK starts and ends with the hard sound of a chess clock - tick, the king is in check.
A little poem
One Persian word for 'king' fell down the years
and scattered: chess, cheque, the checkered flag.
Every careful glance still names a throne.
tercet
Wordplay
- My chess opponent wrote me a check after losing. I told him he was already in one.
What it teaches
To check a thing is to honour it: the careful glance is the king every detail deserves.
Quick facts
What does CHECK mean?
To examine something to make sure it is correct, safe, or in order.
Is CHECK a valid word?
Yes — CHECK is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is CHECK?
CHECK has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does CHECK come from?
From Old French 'eschec', via Arabic from Persian 'shah' (king) - the cry warning that the king in chess is under attack; nearly all modern senses radiate from that one chess move.
What can CHECK teach us?
To check a thing is to honour it: the careful glance is the king every detail deserves.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.