Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

checking account

American  

noun

  1. a bank deposit against which checks can be drawn by the depositor.

checking account British  

noun

  1. the US name for current account

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of checking account

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

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.

Second, a Warsh Fed would need to neutralize swings in the government’s checking account at the Fed.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

Even a billionaire couldn’t get any interest on a checking account during this period, when the Federal Reserve kept rates near zero following the 2008-09 financial crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

Filling out the line after “Pay to the order of” with “Verizon” or “American Express” gave the payment a dimension beyond the Monopoly-money world of a few clicks on my checking account.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

If you have more than you need in your checking account, you’re letting your cash become the financial equivalent of a couch potato.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 27, 2026

McShane had given her a checking account with a thousand dollars in it as a wedding present.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

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.