cheque S2 BrE AmE British English , check American English /tʃek/ noun [countable]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: check , influenced by exchequer ]
a printed piece of paper that you write an amount of money on, sign, and use instead of money to pay for things
cheque 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 CHEQUE
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ pay by cheque
You can pay by cheque or credit card.
▪ write (out) a cheque
I had to write a cheque for £360 yesterday.
▪ give somebody a cheque
Can 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 cheque
You'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 + NOUN
▪ a 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.