a second examination or verification
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
An Americanism dating back to 1950–55
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Definitely double check with your host to make sure the listing is up to date.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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
It also advises users to double check responses for accuracy - a common caveat accompanying AI chatbots, which can be known to state false information in a matter of fact, convincing way.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025
The weather station at Bolling AFB said that there were no balloons in the area, but as a double check the weather people looked at their records of high-altitude winds.
From The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects by Ruppelt, Edward J.
"I've actually pulled off at the side of the road before a bridge just to double-check I'm the right height," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
It means bad AI output compounded by lazy humans who can’t be troubled to double-check.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
Olson said he is now more inclined to double-check AI output after learning Gemini had invented the entire exchange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
He thinks we should have them done somewhere else to double-check.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 27, 2026
I shrug like it’s no big deal, glancing at the compressor to double-check that everything is hooked up right.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
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
And someone on a hydraulic lift double-checks each hanging fixture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024
In Colorado, Dr. Michelle Barron said the consistently low COVID-19 hospitalizations prompted smiles among staff, even as she double-checks the numbers to make sure they’re actually correct.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
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
“Ellen,” says Mallory as she double-checks her clipboard.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Research shows that advisers find it more insulting to be double-checked by a chatbot than by a human rival.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
Afterward, he double-checked the figures against Bloomberg data and found they were largely consistent.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 5, 2025
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
The rosy saxifrage is listed as extinct but Robbie, a skilled climber, still double-checked.
From BBC ● May 24, 2024
At the Faculty Club, the first person Lawrence encountered was Donald Shane, a mathematician who obligingly double-checked Lawrence’s scribbled calculations and agreed that the math appeared to be sound.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“Just double-checking my directions back into town,” I said.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2025
Laker players looked around the meeting room Saturday morning, double-checking with one another to make sure that what they thought they just heard was what JJ Redick actually said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 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
For him, grappling with the problem properly will involve training people to be more critical about the content they are consuming, including viewing everything with "a healthy scepticism", and double-checking sources.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024
Every engineer and mathematician had a story of double-checking the machines’ data only to find errors.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
