Meaning & use
checking up
Last updated
“checking up” is a form of “check up”.
Meanings
verbintransitive
The present participle of 'check up': making sure that someone is doing what they should or that something is true.
Grammar: Used after 'be' or as a gerund. Often followed by 'on' before a person: She is checking up on him.
Patterns
- checking up on someone
- checking up on something
- be checking up
My mother keeps checking up on me to see if I've eaten properly.
The manager is checking up on the team's progress this week.
I don't mind you checking up on the facts, but please trust me.
noununcountable
The act of making checks or investigations to make sure everything is correct.
Grammar: Used as a noun in phrases like 'some checking up' or 'a bit of checking up'.
Patterns
- do some checking up
- a bit of checking up
A little checking up revealed that the story was false.
The accountant did some checking up before signing the report.
Word forms
| base form | check up |
|---|---|
| third person singular | checks up |
| past tense | checked up |
| past participle | checked up |
| -ing form | checking up |
Common combinations
- checking up on someone
- She was checking up on her teenage son while he was out.
- keep checking up
- The boss keeps checking up on us every hour.
- do some checking up
- I did some checking up before I bought the car.
- checking up on facts
- The journalist spent the morning checking up on facts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- verify
- 'Verify' is more formal and means to prove that something is true; 'check up on' often suggests watching someone's behavior.
- monitor
- 'Monitor' means to watch over time, often officially; 'check up on' is more casual and personal.
Opposites
Word family
- check verb
- To look at something to make sure it is correct or safe.
- checkup noun
- A medical examination or a general review, often written as one word.
Commonly confused: checking up or check out?
checking up vs check out
'Check out' means to leave a hotel or to look at something interesting; 'check up on' means to make sure someone is doing the right thing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'checking up' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Checking up on someone' is the correct pattern when you mean making sure someone is doing what they should. 'Checking up her homework' is wrong because 'check up' does not take a direct object without 'on' in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “checking up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.