checkered
Americanadjective
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marked by numerous and various shifts or changes; variegated.
a checkered career.
-
marked by dubious episodes; suspect in character or quality.
a checkered past.
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marked with squares.
a checkered fabric.
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diversified in color; alternately light and shadowed.
the checkered shade beneath trees.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of checkered
Explanation
The author who sells a million copies of her first book, four of the second, wins a prize for the third and dies at the ceremony has had a checkered career: it's got bright spots and dark ones, like a checkerboard. Checkered is a funny word; it can be used to describe the red and white pattern on a classic tablecloth or the up's and down's of someone's past. You could describe the flag that's waved at a Nascar event as checkered. And if the winning Nascar driver used to work at a car wash, you could say he has had a checkered career.
Vocabulary lists containing checkered
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Check It Out, Mate: Chess Vocabulary
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The Circuit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among the most popular: the Checkered Game of Life, created by game pioneer Milton Bradley in 1860.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026
Checkered Past’s dam is Catch the Flag, a daughter of A.P.
From Washington Post • May 5, 2022
Logano’s own Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation partnered with local groups to provide meals to healthcare workers.
From Reuters • Mar. 31, 2020
Checkered flags, bragging rights, the rookie of the year award — and the pressure to keep the high-profile jobs — are all up for grabs.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 13, 2020
Checkered cotton curtains hang in the windows on thin white rods.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
