double check
noun
a simultaneous check by two pieces in which the moving of one piece to give check also results in discovering a check by another piece.
Jump To:
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double check
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double-check
double-checkverb (used with or without object)to check twice or again; recheck.
double check
1 Americannoun
Chess.
double-check
2
American
[duhb-uhl-chek]
/ ˈdʌb əlˈtʃɛk /
verb (used with or without object)
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double-checks,
present (3rd person singular)
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double-checked,
past participle, past
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double-checking
present participle
noun
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double-checks
plural
double-check
British
verb
noun
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a second examination or verification
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chess a simultaneous check from two pieces brought about by moving one piece to give check and thereby revealing a second check from another piece
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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double-checksimple
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double-checkssimple
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have double-checkedperfect
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has double-checkedperfect
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am double-checkingprogressive
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are double-checkingprogressive
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is double-checkingprogressive
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have been double-checkingperfect progressive
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has been double-checkingperfect progressive
Past
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double-checkedsimple
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had double-checkedperfect
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was double-checkingprogressive
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were double-checkingprogressive
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had been double-checkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of double-check
An Americanism dating back to 1950–55
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:
It said various errors were found in the record-keeping, with inspectors advising: “He just needs to double check his work.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Moreover, workers may also have outsize expectations around AI’s automation capabilities, with many of the current tools still requiring workers to double check the completed work for errors.
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
If in doubt, call your insurance company to double check.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 10, 2025
He said while the ONS had "done the right thing" to halt publication to double check the data rather than "sweeping the problem under the carpet", the "mistakes are piling up".
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2025
Becoming a Q., giving check, double check, and mate.
From The Blue Book of Chess Teaching the Rudiments of the Game, and Giving an Analysis of All the Recognized Openings by Howard Staunton
National Lottery players are being asked to double-check their tickets as one worth £12m has yet to be claimed.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
The first time he put the camera behind a row of fans, I had to look over the edge of my 3D glasses to double-check that those waving arms weren’t really in my theater.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
It means bad AI output compounded by lazy humans who can’t be troubled to double-check.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
He thinks we should have them done somewhere else to double-check.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 27, 2026
I double-check to make sure there’s nothing else living under the desk.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
Then he double-checks my claim, asking: “The court hadn’t said it in Students for Fair Admissions?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Even though she has filters set up, Tabacnic always double-checks to make sure her matches are actually where the dating app says they are.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
For example, one arm of the AI generates the response, and another instantly double-checks it to make sure it’s safe before letting it through to the user.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025
That’s why a music conductor I know always double-checks with himself just before he hears “maestro to the pit” and must head to the podium to conduct an opera.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 2, 2021
She relieves herself in the sixth-floor toilet and checks her instinct to flush, knowing the toilet will not refill, and double-checks the air to make sure it does not feel warm before continuing.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
If I hadn’t double-checked the tickets, we would have missed the 9:33 a.m. departure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
After hearing its predictions for the Sweet 16 round I double-checked the data.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026
The film’s access coordinator Chantelle Nassari also equipped Bode with a fully accessible trailer, double-checked the day’s pathways and ensured the actor had what she needed to be able to perform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2024
Some circumstances require manual counts or double-checked tallies.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2024
I double-checked to make sure I had the novel with me.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
A weekday morning on the South Side, kids waiting for the No. 3 King Drive bus to get to school, parents double-checking backpacks and lunch bags while helicopters churn the sky above.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2025
I finished both movies double-checking my watch in astonishment that they really were under an hour and a half.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2025
The state appears to have presented a figure without fully explaining its methodology or double-checking the information, said Becker, who is a former senior trial attorney in the voting section of the U.S.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024
Twinning is a way of double-checking gold is present by drilling next to the place it has been found and taking rock samples.
From BBC ● May 18, 2024
But you can see him suppressing a smile as he’s double-checking the next pod.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
