checkpoint

American  

[chek-point] / ˈtʃɛkˌpɔɪnt /

noun

• checkpoints
  plural

1. a place along a road, border, etc., where travelers are stopped for inspection.

2. a point or item, especially in a procedure, for notation, inspection, or confirmation.

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checkpoint British  

/ ˈtʃɛkˌpɔɪnt /

noun

1. a place, as at a frontier or in a motor rally, where vehicles or travellers are stopped for official identification, inspection, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• checkpoints
  plural

Etymology

Origin of checkpoint

First recorded in 1935–40; check ¹ + point

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

checkpoint checkpoints

At a police checkpoint, relatives and friends of those affected waited for permission to enter the affected area, bringing supplies or offering assistance.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

Miller said that day he had approached a deputy ahead of the checkpoint and told that deputy he had two firearms in his vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Captured at an army checkpoint, he was soon freed because an arrest warrant had been suspended so he could participate in the Total Peace talks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

My homeland is a stranger’s checkpoint and, if they are lucky, their refuge.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

After the last checkpoint, El Tirindaro returns to Nuevo Laredo, and the couple and others in the network deliver the clients to their destinations.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

A seamless grid of autobahns and high speed rail linking a transnational union no longer scarred by checkpoints and exit visas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"There were ordinary gendarmerie checkpoints on the roads, but not an exceptional deployment," a source close to the removal operations told AFP.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

Officials advised commuters to use alternate entrances as portions of the neighborhood became accessible only through managed checkpoints.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Park-goers and those heading to CityWalk were directed to the new security checkpoints.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

The food is all shipped to twenty checkpoints across the state, the dogs are trucked into downtown Anchorage to the staging area on Fourth Street where there is—ridiculously—no snow and they must bring it in.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen