cheat sheet

American

[cheet sheet] / ˈtʃit ˌʃit /

noun

Informal.

a sheet of paper or a digital document containing information used by a student for cheating on an exam or in the classroom.

She had a cheat sheet for the history test with a list of the correct answers.
a document containing notes or other aids used as a reference in studying or remembering certain information.

I used a cheat sheet with statistics and bar graphs to prepare for my radio interview.

Etymology

Origin of cheat sheet

First recorded in 1935–40

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.

There are ways to compress information to fit more of it onto this cheat sheet but it still fills up quickly.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Here’s a year-end cheat sheet for making the most of it.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 19, 2025

The pros I spoke with offered this “common clutter” cheat sheet using a spectrum from “don’t bother” to “you’re sitting on a fortune”:

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 8, 2025

But just in case you're joining us for the first time and keen to catch up on the major movies, here's a quick cheat sheet with each contender's plot summarised in one sentence:

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2025

Lexie looked down at her hands, as if she might find a note scribbled on her palms, like a cheat sheet to guide her through.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023