Check out meaning
Check out means to look at or visit something interesting to find out more. It can also mean to pay your bill and leave a hotel.
check somebody or something out
check out · checked · checking
You should check out the new café on Park Street.
Check out meanings and examples
4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Look at or visit something interesting to find out more
check somebody or something out
- You should check out the new café on Park Street.
- Have you checked out her new song?
- That bike looks cool. Let me check it out.
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2
Pay your bill and leave a hotel
check out
- We have to check out by eleven.
- They checked out early to catch the train.
- Can we check out a bit later tomorrow?
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3
Find out if something is true, safe or correct
check something out
- The police checked out his story, and it was true.
- Get that cough checked out by a doctor.
- I’ll check the company out before I send any money.
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4
Pay for things in a shop or online
check out
- I added the shoes to my basket but didn’t check out.
- You can check out at the self-service tills.
- Click here to check out and pay.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use check out in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is check out separable?
When it means look at, check out is separable: check out the menu, check the menu out, check it out. When it means leave a hotel, there is no object: We checked out at ten.
Check it out! is a very common way to show someone something cool. The noun checkout is one word: the checkout at a supermarket, the checkout page.
Verb tenses for check out
| Present | I check out · she checks out |
|---|---|
| Past | checked out |
| Present perfect | have checked out |
| -ing form | checking out |
Common mistakes with check out
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: This video is funny. Check out it!
Right: This video is funny. Check it out!
A pronoun goes between check and out.
Wrong: We checked out the hotel at noon.
Right: We checked out of the hotel at noon.
When you leave a place, use check out of.
Wrong: We need to check out until eleven.
Right: We need to check out by eleven.
By means no later than; until means during all the time before.
Synonyms and opposites of check out
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
Opposite
- check inarrive and register at a hotel or airport
- ignorenot pay attention to something
Check out quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1There’s a great market here on Sundays. You should ___.
Check it out means go and look; the pronoun goes in the middle.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Use check out of a hotel when you leave.
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3“Get that mole checked out.” What does the speaker want you to do?
Get something checked out means have an expert examine it.
More phrasal verbs with check
2 phrasal verbs start with check. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Check out FAQ
Questions people ask about check out.
What does check it out mean?
It means look at this, it is interesting: Check it out, I got new trainers! People say it a lot in speech and online.
Is it checkout or check out?
Check out, two words, is the verb: We checked out. Checkout, one word, is the noun: the checkout, late checkout.
What does checked out mean about a person?
Informally, if someone has checked out, they have stopped paying attention or caring: By Friday, half the class had checked out.
Use check out in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.