checkered
Americanadjective
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marked by numerous and various shifts or changes; variegated.
a checkered career.
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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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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.
But the recovery remains tenuous in a retail district still checkered with empty stores—including a three-level space in a struggling nearby mall that Nordstrom abandoned last year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
Woven baskets, checkered blankets, fringed umbrellas and trimmed napkins prove picnic classics never go out of style.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 4, 2026
They have a checkered performance history and can be difficult to sell.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
He wore his usual casual billionaire outfit — white-and-cardinal Nikes, jeans, checkered shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a colorful Southwestern-style fabric belt.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
What if I only take the baggy checkered old-man shorts that come down to my knees?”
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
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.
