Checking

How to spell checking

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce checking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does checking mean?

1. verbIn the process of inspecting, testing, or verifying that something is correct, safe, or in order.
2. nounA type of everyday bank account that allows frequent deposits and withdrawals, typically used for daily spending.

Checking in a sentence

• verb

  She spent the morning checking the figures in the quarterly report.

• noun

  Her salary is deposited straight into her checking account each month.

• verb

  Before the long drive he was checking the oil and tyre pressure.

• noun

  He moved some savings into checking to cover the rent.

Where does checking come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the present participle of the verb 'check', a word with a surprisingly royal pedigree. It goes back to the Persian word 'shah', meaning 'king', which travelled through Arabic and into Old French as 'eschec', the cry a player made in chess to warn that the opponent's king was under attack. From the idea of a king being held in check came the broader sense of stopping, restraining, or controlling something, and from there the modern meaning of inspecting or verifying that something is correct. English borrowed it in the 1300s, and the same chess root also gave us 'chess' itself, 'checkmate' (from 'shah mat', the king is dead), and the patterned 'checkered' board. The spelling is mostly regular; the only thing to watch is that the soft 'k' sound is written 'ck' before the '-ing'.

How the word is built

• check (root, verb)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)