bill [1]
n
1 money owed for goods or services supplied
an electricity bill
2 a written or printed account or statement of money owed
3 (Chiefly Brit) such an account for food and drink in a restaurant, hotel, etc, (Usual U.S. and Canadian word)
check
4 any printed or written list of items, events, etc., such as a theatre programme
who's on the bill tonight?
5 ♦
fit or fill the bill
Informal to serve or perform adequately
6 a statute in draft, before it becomes law
7 a printed notice or advertisement; poster
8 (U.S. and Canadian) a piece of paper money; note
9 an obsolete name for →
promissory note
10 (Law) See →
bill of indictment
11 See →
bill of exchange
13 Archaic any document
vb tr
14 to send or present an account for payment to (a person)
15 to enter (items, goods, etc.) on an account or statement
16 to advertise by posters
17 to schedule as a future programme the play is billed for next week (C14: from Anglo-Latin billa, alteration of Late Latin bulla document, bull3)
check
vb
1 to pause or cause to pause, esp. abruptly
2 tr to restrain or control
to check one's tears
3 tr to slow the growth or progress of; retard
5 when intr, often foll by: on or up on to examine, investigate, or make an inquiry into (facts, a product, etc.) for accuracy, quality, or progress, esp. rapidly or informally
6 tr (Chiefly U.S. and Canadian) to mark off so as to indicate approval, correctness, or preference, (Usual Brit. word)
tick
7 intr; often foll by: with (Chiefly U.S. and Canadian) to correspond or agree
this report checks with the other
8 tr (Chiefly U.S., Canadian, and N.Z.) to leave in or accept (clothing or property) for temporary custody
9 (Chess) to place (an opponent's king) in check
10 tr to mark with a pattern of squares or crossed lines
11 to crack or cause to crack
12 (Agriculture) short for →
checkrow
13 tr (Ice hockey) to impede (an opponent)
14 intr (Hunting) (of hounds) to pause in the pursuit of quarry while relocating a lost scent
15 intr; foll by: at (Falconry) to change from one quarry to another while in flight
16 intr to decline the option of opening the betting in a round of poker
17 ♦
check the helm (Nautical) to swing back the helm of a vessel to prevent it from turning too quickly or too far
n
18 a break in progress; stoppage
a a person or thing that restrains, halts, etc.
b (as modifier)
a check line
a a control, esp. a rapid or informal one, designed to ensure accuracy, progress, etc.
b (as modifier)
a check list
22 a means or standard to ensure against fraud or error
23 the U.S. word for →
tick 1
24 the U.S. spelling of →
cheque
25 (Chiefly U.S.) the bill in a restaurant
26 (Chiefly U.S. and Canadian) a ticket or tag used to identify clothing or property deposited for custody
27 a pattern of squares or crossed lines
28 a single square in such a pattern
a fabric with a pattern of squares or crossed lines
b (as modifier)
a check suit
30 (Chess) the state or position of a king under direct attack, from which it must be moved or protected by another piece
31 a small crack, as one in veneer or one that occurs in timber during seasoning
32 part of the action of a piano that arrests the backward motion of a hammer after it has struck a string and holds it until the key is released
33 a chip or counter used in some card and gambling games
34 (Hunting) a pause by the hounds in the pursuit of their quarry owing to loss of its scent
35 (Angling) a ratchet fitted to a fishing reel to check the free running of the line
36 (Ice hockey) the act of impeding an opponent with one's body or stick
37 ♦
in check under control or restraint
interj
38 (Chess) a call made to an opponent indicating that his king is in check
39 (Chiefly U.S. and Canadian) an expression of agreement, (See also)
→
check in →
check off →
check out →
checkup
(C14: from Old French eschec a check at chess, hence, a pause (to verify something), via Arabic from Persian shah the king! (in chess))
♦
checkable adj
check digit
n (Computing) a digit derived from and appended to a string of data digits, used to detect corruption of the data string during transmission or transcription
check in
vb adv
1 intr to record one's arrival, as at a hotel or for work; sign in or report
2 tr to register the arrival of (passengers, etc.)
n
♦
check-in
a the formal registration of arrival, as at an airport or a hotel
b (as modifier)
check-in time
4 the place where one registers arrival at an airport, etc.
check list
n a list of items, facts, names, etc., to be checked or referred to for comparison, identification, or verification
check off
vb tr, adv
2 to deduct (union contributions) directly from an employee's pay
n
♦
check-off
3 a procedure whereby an employer deducts union contributions directly from an employee's pay and pays the money to the union
check out
vb adv
1 intr to pay the bill and depart, esp. from a hotel
2 intr to depart from a place; record one's departure from work
3 to investigate or prove to be in order after investigation
the police checked out all the statements, their credentials checked out
4 tr
Informal to have a look at; inspect
check out the wally in the pink shirt
n
♦
checkout
a the latest time for vacating a room in a hotel, etc.
b (as modifier)
checkout time
6 a counter, esp. in a supermarket, where customers pay
check valve
n a valve that closes by fluid pressure to prevent return flow, (Also called)
nonreturn valve
discovered check
n (Chess) check given by moving a man that has been masking a potential check from a bishop, rook, or queen
dog's-tooth check , dog-tooth check
n other names for →
hound's-tooth check
double-check
vb
1 to check twice or again; verify
n
♦
double check
2 a second examination or verification
3 (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
hound's-tooth check
n a pattern of broken or jagged checks, esp. one printed on or woven into cloth, (Also called)
dogs-tooth check, dogtooth check
parity check
n a check made of computer data to ensure that the total number of bits of value 1 (or 0) in each unit of information remains odd or even after transfer between a peripheral device and the memory or vice versa
perpetual check
n (Chess) a consecutive series of checks that the checked player cannot avoid, leading to a drawn game
rain check
n
1 (U.S. and Canadian) a ticket stub for a baseball or other game that allows readmission on a future date if the event is cancelled because of rain
2 the deferral of acceptance of an offer, esp., a voucher issued to a customer wishing to purchase a sale item that is temporarily out of stock, enabling him to buy it at the special price when next the item is available
3 ♦
take a rain check
Informal to accept the postponement of an offer
sound check
n an on-the-spot rehearsal by a band before a gig to enable the sound engineer to set up the mixer
spot check
n
1 a quick random examination
2 a check made without prior warning
vb
♦
spot-check
3 tr to perform a spot check on