Checker

How to spell checker

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce checker

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does checker mean?

1. nounA person or device that examines or verifies something for accuracy.
2. nounOne of the round discs used in the board game of checkers (draughts).
3. nounA person who scans and totals customers' purchases at a store, especially a supermarket.

Checker in a sentence

• The spell checker flagged three errors in the report before she sent it.

• He stacked one checker on top of another to crown a king.

• The checker scanned the groceries and bagged them quickly.

• A quality checker inspected each part as it came off the production line.

• A single red checker slid across the board into the open square.

• She worked as a checker at the supermarket while studying.

Where does checker come from?

Language of origin: French

The word grows out of the verb 'check', which began life as a term from the game of chess. It traces back through Old French 'eschec' to the Persian word 'shah', meaning 'king', the cry warning that the king is under attack. From the idea of stopping or restraining an opponent's king, 'check' broadened to mean halting, controlling, and then verifying or inspecting. Adding the common agent suffix '-er' produced 'checker', literally 'one who checks' or 'a device that checks', a formation that became widespread in English by the nineteenth century. The same Persian root also gave us 'checkmate' (from 'shah mat', 'the king is dead') and, through a separate path, the British spelling 'chequer', which is exactly why British writers can hesitate between 'checker' and 'chequer'.

How the word is built

• check (to verify or stop)
• -er (agent suffix: one who or that which does the action)