1. (v. i.) To pause; hold back; stop; as, to check the progress of a mudslide.
2. (n.) 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.
3. (n.) Whatever arrests progress, or limits action; an obstacle, guard, restraint, or rebuff.
4. (n.) 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. (n.) A written order directing a bank or banker to pay money as therein stated. See Bank check, below.
6. (n.) 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. (n.) The forsaking by a hawk of its proper game to follow other birds.
8. (n.) Small chick or crack.
9. (v. t.) To make a move which puts an adversary's piece, esp. his king, in check; to put in check.
10. (v. t.) To put a sudden restraint upon; to stop temporarily; to hinder; to repress; to curb.
11. (v. t.) 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; as, to check an account; to check baggage.
12. (v. t.) To chide, rebuke, or reprove.
13. (v. t.) To slack or ease off, as a brace which is too stiffly extended.
14. (v. t.) To make checks or chinks in; to cause to crack; as, the sun checks timber.
15. (v. i.) To make a stop; to pause; -- with at.
16. (v. i.) To clash or interfere.
17. (v. i.) To act as a curb or restraint.
18. (v. i.) To crack or gape open, as wood in drying; or to crack in small checks, as varnish, paint, etc.
19. (v. i.) To turn, when in pursuit of proper game, and fly after other birds.
20. (a.) Checkered; designed in checks.
Thesaurus Entries
CD, IOU, MO, X, a reckoning of, abrade, abrasion, abysm, abyss, acceptance, acceptance bill, accord, account, account of, agree, allophone, alveolar, answer to, aperture, apico-alveolar, apico-dental, arrest, arrestation, arrestment, arrive, arroyo, articulation, ascertainment, aspiration, assent, assimilation, assort with, assurance, audit, authenticate, authentication, autopsy, backpedal, backset, backwater, baffle, bafflement, baggage check, balance, balance the books, balk, balking, band, bank acceptance, bank check, bar, bark, barometer, be consistent, be of one, be uniform with, bearing rein, beat off, bell, bespangle, bespeckle, bespot, bilabial, bill, bill of account, bill of draft, bill of exchange, bill of lading, billhead, birthmark, bit, blackhead, blank check, blaze, blaze a trail, bleb, blemish, blister, block, blockage, blocking, bloody, blotch, book stamp, bookplate, bottle up, box canyon, box up, brake, brand, breach, break, bridle, bring to, bring up short, broaching, broad arrow, bulla, burn, burst, bust, cachet, cacuminal, cage, caging, canon, canvass, canyon, caste mark, cavity, cease, cerebral, certificate, certificate of deposit, certification, certified check, cessation, chafe, chain, chalk, chalk up, chap, charges, chasm, check, check and doublecheck, check in, check of, check off, check out, check over, check up on, checkbook, checker, checkerboard, checkerwork, checking, checkmark, checkmate, checkrein, checkup, cheque, chessboard, chime, chimney, chink, chip, chit, chock, cicatrix, cicatrize, circumvent, claw, clearing, cleave, cleft, cleuch, clip the wings, clog, clogging, cloister, closing up, closure, clough, cohere, coincide, col, collate, collation, colophon, colors in patches, comedo, comedown, commercial paper, comparative scrutiny, compare, concur, concussion, confine, confinement, confirm, confirmation, conform, conform with, confounding, confusion, consist with, consonant, constrain, constraint, constriction, contain, continuant, control, cool, cool off, cooling, cooling down, cooling off, coop, coop in, coop up, cooperate, cork up, correspond, corroborate, corroboration, coulee, couloir, count of, counter, countercheck, counterfoil, countermark, coupon, crack, crackle, cramp, cranny, crater, craze, crazy-work, crevasse, crevice, crib, criterion, croak, cross-check, curb, curb bit, curtail, curtailment, cut, cut apart, cut short, cutoff, cwm, dam, dam up, damage, damp, dampen, damper, dapple, dash, dead stop, deadlock, debenture, decelerate, deceleration, deface, defacement, defeat, defect
