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checkout

American  
[chek-out] / ˈtʃɛkˌaʊt /
Or check-out

noun

checkouts plural
  1. the procedure of vacating and paying for one's quarters at a hotel.

  2. the time before which a hotel room must be vacated if another day's charge is not to be made.

  3. an examination of fitness for performance.

    The checkout of the new plane was successful.

  4. a series of sequential actions to familiarize oneself with new equipment.

  5. itemization and collection of amounts due for purchases.

    Retailers need to improve online checkout.

  6. Also called checkout counter.  a counter where customers pay for purchases.

    The supermarket has five checkouts.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of checkout

1920–25, noun use of verb phrase check out

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.

See Examples For:

At the checkout, another older man asked about the wine I was carefully laying down sideways on the fast-moving conveyor belt.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 24, 2026

StubHub International said the hidden fees were as a result of an "isolated platform error" that led to some chRGES appearing at checkout rather than earlier in the buying process.

From BBC Jun. 23, 2026

Anorexia and bulimia were in nearly every tabloid headline, splashed across the supermarket checkout aisles.

From Salon Jun. 22, 2026

Our checkout process should be shorter, for instance.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 12, 2026

Walking around the checkout lanes, Cabot grabbed a pack of gum, tossed it down onto the nearest cashier’s conveyer belt, and tapped his fingers on the counter.

From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

Self checkouts are slower, according to Costco’s internal data, but some customers prefer them, said workers and executives.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 8, 2026

He missed darts to go 3-0 up against Van Gerwen, his doubling caused problems throughout and he finished the match with an 18.75% success rate on the checkouts.

From BBC Mar. 26, 2026

Drury said that many younger consumers accustomed to one-click checkouts are less used to bargaining and value speed and certainty.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 2, 2026

This included installing close to 16,500 new checkouts and launching a new groceries app and website — costing hundreds of millions of pounds.

From BBC Jan. 31, 2026

The agency sent a film crew to each of the remote tracking stations, recording the communications teams as they completed their preflight checkouts.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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