checker

¹

[ chek-er ]

noun

1. a small, usually red or black disk of plastic or wood, used in playing checkers.
2. checkers,
   1. alsocalledcomma British, draughts [drafts, drahfts]. (used with a singular verb) a game played by two persons, each with 12 playing pieces, on a checkerboard.
   2. (in a regenerative furnace) loosely stacked brickwork through which furnace gases and incoming air are passed in turn, so that the heat of the exhaust is absorbed and later transferred to the incoming air.
3. a checkered pattern.
4. one of the squares of a checkered pattern.

verb (used with object)

1. to mark like a checkerboard.
2. to diversify in color; variegate.
3. to diversify in character; subject to alternations:

   Sorrow and joy have checkered his life.

checker

²

[ chek-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that checks.
2. a cashier, as in a supermarket or cafeteria.
3. a person who checks coats, baggage, etc.

checker

¹

/ ˈtʃɛkə /

noun

1. a cashier, esp in a supermarket
2. an attendant in a cloakroom, left-luggage office, etc

checker

²

/ ˈtʃɛkə /

noun

1. the usual US spelling of chequer

noun

1. textiles a variant spelling of chequer
2. any one of the 12 flat thick discs used by each player in the game of checkers Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)draughtsman

Word History and Origins

Origin of checker¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English check(i)er, chequer, chekker “chessboard, checkerboard,” from Old French eschequier, eschaquier (by shortening), equivalent to eschec + -er; check ¹, -er ²

Origin of checker²

First recorded in 1525–35; check ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

At the Washington Post’s Fact Checker, Glenn Kessler noted that “Trump is referencing a ridiculous social media hoax” and said “there is no evidence that Haitians are doing this.” FactCheck.org, the Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, the New York Times, CNN, and many other outlets offered similar fact checks of Trump’s risible claim; each of these outlets deemed it categorically false.

From Slate

Prostate Cancer UK has a 30-second online risk checker, external.

From BBC

The bar’s early clientele was mostly blue-collar workers who came for the chess and checker boards, pool tables and to throw darts.

From Los Angeles Times

CNN fact checker Daniel Dale couldn’t even get through all of the falsehoods from the “remarkably dishonest” address in the 2-minute time slot Jake Tapper gave him.

From Salon

And that’s why it’s so important to have a fact checker on your show.

From New York Times

Related Words

• auditor
• controller
• detective
• investigator
• monitor
• police officer