cheek

[ cheek ]

/ tʃik /

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See synonyms for: cheek / cheeks on Thesaurus.com

noun

either side of the face below the eye and above the jaw.

the side wall of the mouth between the upper and lower jaws.

something resembling the side of the human face in form or position, as either of two parts forming corresponding sides of various objects: the cheeks of a vise.

impudence or effrontery: He's got a lot of cheek to say that to me!

Slang. either of the buttocks.

Architecture.

one side of an opening, as a reveal.
either of two similar faces of a projection, as a buttress or dormer.

Carpentry.

a piece of wood removed from the end of a timber in making a tenon.
a piece of wood on either side of a mortise.

one side of a hammer head.

Horology. one of two pieces placed on both sides of the suspension spring of a pendulum to control the amplitude of oscillation or to give the arc of the pendulum a cycloidal form.

one of the two main vertical supports forming the frame of a hand printing press.

Machinery. either of the sides of a pulley or block.

Nautical. either of a pair of fore-and-aft members at the lower end of the head of a lower mast, used to support trestletrees which in turn support a top and often the heel of a topmast; one of the hounds of a lower mast.Compare hound² (def. 1).

Metallurgy. any part of a flask between the cope and the drag.

OTHER WORDS FOR cheek

4 nerve, audacity, brass, gall.

See synonyms for cheek on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about cheek

cheek by jowl, in close intimacy; side by side: a row of houses cheek by jowl.

(with) tongue in cheek. tongue (def. 37).

Origin of cheek

before 900; Middle English cheke,Old English cē(a)ce; akin to Dutch kaak,Middle Low German kake

OTHER WORDS FROM cheek

cheekless, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cheek in a sentence

Then they intended to bury her, but she looked more alive than dead, and she still had such pretty red cheeks.
In New Brothers Grimm 'Snow White', The Prince Doesn't Save Her|The Brothers Grimm|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now in his early thirties, his cheeks are sunken from smoking too much hash.
Obama’s Deadly Informants: The Drone Spotters of Pakistan|Umar Farooq, Syed Fakhar Kakakhel|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They have putrid California grapes for eyes, puffed-out cheeks of spoiled plums, sweltered eggplant lips.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I could feel the fat of my cheeks trying to escape as she held me still to mark me with red lipstick.
My ‘Kink’ Nightmare: James Franco’s BDSM Porn Documentary ‘Kink’ Only Tells Part of the Story|Aurora Snow|August 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Her eyes dart through oval, wire-rimmed glasses that rest gently on her round cheeks.
A Shooting on a Tribal Land Uncovers Feds Running Wild|Caitlin Dickson|August 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She was growing accustomed to like shocks, but she could not keep the mounting color back from her cheeks.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Mary is fair as the morning dew— Cheeks of roses and ribbons of blue!
Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17)|Various
Very trim and strong, and confident he looked, with the glow of youth in his cheeks, and the spark of happiness in his gray eyes.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Lady Maude advanced; she had really come in by accident; her head was bent, her eyelashes rested on her flushed cheeks.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
Then, of a sudden, the little colour faded from her cheeks again, and she seemed stricken with a silence.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for cheek

cheek

/ (tʃiːk) /

noun

either side of the face, esp that part below the eye
either side of the oral cavity; side of the mouthRelated adjectives: buccal, genal, malar

informal impudence; effrontery

(often plural) informal either side of the buttocks

(often plural) a side of a door jamb

nautical one of the two fore-and-aft supports for the trestletrees on a mast of a sailing vessel, forming part of the hounds

one of the jaws of a vice

cheek by jowl close together; intimately linked

turn the other cheek to be submissive and refuse to retaliate even when provoked or treated badly

with one's tongue in one's cheek See tongue (def. 19)

verb

(tr) informal to speak or behave disrespectfully to; act impudently towards

Derived forms of cheek

cheekless, adjective

Word Origin for cheek

Old English ceace; related to Middle Low German kāke, Dutch kaak

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with cheek

cheek

In addition to the idiom beginning with cheek

cheek by jowl

also see:

tongue in cheek
turn the other cheek

cheek

OTHER WORDS FOR cheek

Idioms about cheek

Origin of cheek

OTHER WORDS FROM cheek

Words related to cheek

How to use cheek in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cheek

Derived forms of cheek

Word Origin for cheek

Other Idioms and Phrases with cheek