checkbook

IPA/ˈtʃekbʊk/
KK[tʃˈɛkbˌʊk]IPA/ˈtʃekbʊk/

checkbook — noun

  • checkbooksingular
  • checkbooksplural

1. a small booklet of blank checks that you fill in and hand to someone as a way of

1.nounB1
Definition

a small booklet of blank checks that you fill in and hand to someone as a way of paying them from your bank account

Example

Wei wrote a check from his checkbook to pay the landlord for August rent.

noun as subject complement via possession (from his checkbook)

The bank teller handed Nora a new checkbook when she opened her account.

passive: handed + indirect object + checkbook

Common collocations
  • balance a checkbook
  • write a check from one's checkbook
  • order a new checkbook
  • misplace / lose a checkbook
  • checkbook register
Synonyms
  • chequebook

    identical meaning; British spelling variant

Usage Note

US spelling; the British equivalent is chequebook. Although fewer people use paper checks today, the word checkbook is still common in American financial discussions and in phrases like balance your checkbook (keeping track of spending).

Common Mistakes

I need to put money into my checkbook.
I need to put money into my checking account.
A checkbook is the booklet of checks; the bank account is where the money sits.
Please write me a checkbook for $100.
Please write me a check for $100.
A checkbook is the whole book; a check (or cheque) is one single payment slip from it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Checkbook and chequebook describe the exact same item — a booklet of blank checks — but differ by region: checkbook is American English, while chequebook is the standard British spelling. A check (or cheque in BrE) is a single payment slip from the book, not the book itself. You write a check from your checkbook, but you cannot write a checkbook. A checking account (BrE: current account) is the bank account that the money comes from; you need one to get a checkbook, but the two terms are not interchangeable. For example: 'I wrote a check from my checkbook, but the money came out of my checking account.' Mixing these up is a common mistake among learners.

checkbook ↗chequebook ↗check ↗checking account

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • carefully (balance)

Phrases

  • balance one's checkbook
  • write a check from one's checkbook

Prepositions

  • in (one's checkbook)
  • from (one's checkbook)

Etymology

Old FrenchEnglish

Checkbook is a compound word formed in late 18th-century American English by combining check (a written order directing a bank to pay money, from the Old French word eschequier, meaning a chessboard or counting table) and book (a bound collection of pages). The idea was that banks bound multiple blank check forms together into a small booklet for customer convenience.