cheque

cheque — noun

1. a small paper form that you fill in and sign to tell your bank to pay a specific

1.nounA2
Definition

a small paper form that you fill in and sign to tell your bank to pay a specific amount of money to a person or company

Example

Leila paid the doctor with a cheque for sixty pounds.

pay with a cheque + amount

The woman at the shop asked me to pay by cheque or cash.

pay by cheque

Common collocations
  • pay by cheque
  • write a cheque
  • cash a cheque
  • sign a cheque
  • a blank cheque
  • a cheque for [amount]
  • cheque book
  • cheque account
Synonyms
  • check

    American English spelling of the same document

  • bank draft

    a more secure type of cheque issued by the bank itself, not by a person

  • money order

    a prepaid payment certificate bought with cash; does not require a bank account

Usage Note

Cheque is the British spelling; the American spelling is check. Avoid confusing cheque (the payment document) with the verb check (to examine).

Common Mistakes

I paid by check.' (in British English)
I paid by cheque.
cheque is the British spelling; check is American.
Please cheque your work before handing it in.
Please check your work before handing it in.
cheque is only a noun for the payment form; the verb meaning 'to examine' is always check.
Idioms

a blank cheque

idiom

a signed cheque with the amount left empty, so the person receiving it can write in any amount; also used figuratively to mean complete freedom or permission to do whatever one chooses

The manager gave the design team a blank cheque to create the new logo.

Handing someone a blank cheque is risky because they could write any amount.

Word family

  • check
    nounA2
  • cheque book
    nounB1
  • cashier's cheque
    nounB2
  • traveller's cheque
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Cheque (British) and check (American) refer to the exact same document — a paper form instructing a bank to pay money from your account. The difference is only regional spelling. A bank draft is similar but more secure: the bank issues it after taking the money from your account upfront, so the recipient is guaranteed payment. A money order is a prepaid certificate you buy with cash; no bank account is needed, making it useful for people without one. Direct debit is different: it is an ongoing electronic authorisation that lets a company regularly take money from your account (e.g. monthly rent), whereas a cheque is a one-time paper instruction. Use a cheque when you need to pay a specific person or company a fixed amount; use direct debit for recurring bills.

checkbank draftmoney orderdirect debit

Common collocations

Nouns

  • book (cheque book)
  • account (cheque account)
  • card (cheque card)
  • stub (cheque stub)

Phrases

  • a blank cheque
  • a cheque in the post
  • the cheque is in the mail

Prepositions

  • by (pay by cheque)
  • for (a cheque for £100)

Etymology

Old FrenchAnglo-FrenchEnglish

The word cheque comes from the game of chess: the Old French eschequier meant 'chess board' and later 'a checkered cloth used for counting money'. By the 1700s, English banks were using printed forms to 'check' or verify payment orders, and the spelling cheque split off in British English to distinguish the bank document from the verb check. American English kept the spelling check for both the payment form and the verb meaning 'to examine'.