checker

¹

British, che·quer

[chek-er]

noun

1. a small, usually red or black disk of plastic or wood, used in playing checkers.

2. checkers,

   1. British, draughts. (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. the usual US spelling of chequer

noun

1. textiles a variant spelling of chequer

2. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): draughtsman. any one of the 12 flat thick discs used by each player in the game of checkers

checker

²

/ ˈtʃɛkə /

noun

1. a cashier, esp in a supermarket

2. an attendant in a cloakroom, left-luggage office, etc

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

He was a small, wiry fellow in a long checkered coat.

Read more on Literature

On Friday nights, for entertainment, we would often help Mama bake a cake or we would test our minds by working puzzles or playing checkers and other table games.

Read more on Literature

Founder Dan Evins, a Tennessee oil jobber, envisioned a restaurant and retail operation themed around old-time country stores, where people gathered to play checkers on barrels once used to deliver crackers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Southern Section has deployed new investigative techniques to checker transfer paperwork submitted by schools.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The CIA has a long and checkered history in the region over many years, but I don’t think any president has been dim enough to announce it in advance.

Read more on Salon

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