Meaning & use
cheque
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Meanings
nouncountable
A printed paper on which you write an amount and sign your name, telling your bank to pay that sum to someone.
Grammar: The British spelling; American English uses check. Used with write, sign, cash and pay by.
Patterns
- a cheque for an amount
- pay by cheque
- write a cheque to someone
She wrote a cheque for two hundred pounds to the plumber.
The landlord only accepts rent by cheque.
The cheque bounced because there was not enough money in the account.
nouncountable
The sum of money shown on such a paper, or the method of paying with it.
Grammar: Used in phrases like a cheque for, or pay by cheque.
Patterns
- pay by cheque
The charity received a large cheque from an anonymous donor.
Cheques are slowly disappearing in favor of bank transfers.
Please pay by cheque or card at the till.
Word forms
| plural | cheques |
|---|
Common combinations
- write a cheque
- He wrote a cheque to cover the repairs.
- cash a cheque
- She went to the bank to cash a cheque.
- pay by cheque
- Do you want to pay by cheque or by card?
- blank cheque
- The committee gave the manager a blank cheque to hire staff.
- bounced cheque
- A bounced cheque can lead to extra bank charges.
- cheque book
- Keep your cheque book in a safe place.
Synonyms and how they differ
- check
- Check is the American spelling of the same word, and it has several other meanings in American English.
- draft
- A draft is a bank-issued payment instrument, usually safer than a personal cheque.
- money order
- A money order is bought in advance for a fixed amount, whereas a cheque draws on your own account.
Word family
- chequebook noun
- a book of blank cheques
- chequing account noun
- a Canadian term for a bank account used with cheques
- cheque card noun
- a card guaranteeing that a cheque will be paid
Commonly confused: cheque or check? cheque or chequered?
cheque vs check
In American English check is the spelling for a bank payment, but British English keeps check for examining something and cheque for the payment.
cheque vs chequered
Chequered means marked with a pattern of squares or having mixed fortunes, and it is not about payments.
Practice
In British English, how do you spell the bank payment you write and sign?
Choose one answer.
British English uses cheque for the payment. Check is the American spelling and also British for examining, while the other forms are not words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cheque”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.