From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishchequecheque British English, check American English /tʃek/ ●●● S2 noun [countable] MONEYa printed piece of paper that you write an amount of money on, sign, and use instead of money to pay for thingscheque for They sent me a cheque for £100.by cheque Can I pay by cheque? You could write her a cheque.cash a cheque (=get cash in exchange for a cheque) → blank cheque, traveller's chequeCOLLOCATIONSverbspay by chequeYou can pay by cheque or credit card.write (out) a chequeI had to write a cheque for £360 yesterday.give somebody a chequeCan I give you a cheque, or would you prefer cash?make a cheque out/payable to somebody (=write someone's name on a cheque so it is paid to them)Who shall I make the cheque out to?enclose a cheque (=send it with a letter by post)I wrote to the company enclosing a cheque for £49.99.sign a chequeYou've forgotten to sign the cheque.pay in a cheque (=pay a cheque into your bank account)I went to the bank to pay in a couple of cheques.cancel/stop a cheque (=stop a cheque from being paid to someone)Don't forget to phone the bank and cancel that cheque.cash a cheque (=exchange a cheque for the amount of money it is worth)The company had cashed the cheque but not sent the goods.accept a cheque (=take a cheque as a form of payment)We only accept cheques if you have a bank card.draw a cheque formal (=use a cheque to withdraw money from an account)Customers can draw cheques for any amount they like on their accounts.a cheque bounces (=is not paid by a bank because there is not enough money in the account)The cheque bounced because my account was overdrawn.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + cheque a large cheque (=for a lot of money)Sara was delighted to receive a large cheque in the post.a blank cheque (=signed but without the amount written on it)I wasn't sure how much the tickets would be so I gave her a blank cheque.a post-dated cheque (=with a date on it that is later than the date you write the cheque)She wanted a post-dated cheque for the next three months' rent.a pay cheque (=one that you get for doing your job)My pay cheque arrived at the end of each week.a traveller's cheque (=a type of cheque that you can exchange for money in another country)Are you taking some traveller's cheques on holiday?cheque + NOUNa cheque book (=a book of cheques that your bank gives you to use)When you open a bank account you will be given your own cheque book.a cheque card (=a bank card shown when paying by cheque)Cheques must be accompanied by a valid cheque card.a cheque stub (=the part of a cheque that stays in your cheque book when you have written a cheque)Check your cheque stubs to see when you wrote the cheque.
Examples from the Corpus
cheque• Instead he sent off a cheque last month for a new licence when his old one expired.• A former miner, Joe was presented with a cheque together with good wishes for a long and happy retirement.• The funds are then available to be drawn on by cheque as above.• The team that finishes bottom will pocket a compensation cheque of £37,000.• Clearly, the absence of cheque guarantee cards limited the value of the cheque book facility.• He asks a hotelier if he will accept the cheque in payment of a bill for £15.pay by cheque• On selling his National Savings certificates, he would be paid by cheque and his bank deposit would increase.• You can pay by cheque, Visa or Access credit card.• Perhaps she should have paid by cheque after all.• Even if you go overdrawn you will find charges for Switch are cheaper than paying by cheque.• But ten days later he returned to the same Thornaby service station, filled up with petrol and then paid by cheque.From Longman Business Dictionarychequecheque /tʃek/ British English, check American English noun [countable]BANKING1a printed form that you use to pay for something instead of using money. You write on it the amount in words and numbers, the date, the person being paid, and sign your namea cheque for £200You can pay by cheque or credit card.He cashed the cheque (=exchanged it for cash) at a High Street bank.He had second thoughts, and phoned his bank to stop the cheque (=tell the bank not to pay it).As long as you don’t exceed the agreed limit, the bank won’t bounce your cheques (=refuse to pay them because there is not enough money in your account).2float a check American English to write a cheque that you do not have money in the bank to pay → ante-dated cheque → bank cheque → bearer cheque → blank cheque → cashier's cheque → certified cheque → crossed cheque → dud cheque → endorsed cheque → open cheque → personal cheque → post-dated cheque → stale cheque → third party check → traveller’s chequeOrigin cheque (1700-1800) check, influenced by exchequer 