check out
Britishverb
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(intr) to pay the bill and depart, esp from a hotel
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(intr) to depart from a place; record one's departure from work
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to investigate or prove to be in order after investigation
the police checked out all the statements
their credentials checked out
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informal (tr) to have a look at; inspect
check out the wally in the pink shirt
noun
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the latest time for vacating a room in a hotel, etc
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( as modifier )
checkout time
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a counter, esp in a supermarket, where customers pay
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Record one's departure from a hotel by paying the bill, or from a conference or other function, as in As soon as my bags are packed I'll check out of the motel . [Early 1900s]
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Leave hurriedly, make a quick exit, as in The minute I get paid I'm checking out . [ Slang ; 1920s]
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Die, as in When he got cholera, he was sure he'd check out . [ Slang ; 1920s]
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Withdraw an item after recording the withdrawal, as in I'll check out the tapes on your library card . [1930s]
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Record, total the prices, and receive payment for a purchase, as in The cashier checked out and bagged my groceries in record time .
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. Investigate or evaluate something or someone; observe carefully. For example, I don't know if you'll like the film; check it out yourself , or That man who's staring is probably just checking us out . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
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Pass close inspection, as in That rattle made me suspicious, but the repairman said the machine checked out completely .
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.
I wasn’t a fan on my first Delta One trip in 2024, booked so I could check out the new Delta One lounge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
If you’re a 30 Rock fan looking for a similar show to enjoy, check out this ranked list of 14 spiritual successors that my colleagues and I put together.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
But y’all should go check out Art of Play in Brooklyn if you enjoy being treated like Julia Roberts character in Pretty Woman.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
Josh Allen is elite, but the Bills aren’t impervious to problems — check out the Chargers game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
As soon as I’d gone into the house, it had come forward to see what I had been doing—to check out the hole—and I hadn’t seen or heard a thing.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
