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Check vs Dull - What's the difference?

check | dull | Related terms |

Check is a related term of dull.


As verbs the difference between check and dull

is that check is to inspect; to examine while dull is to render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.

As a noun check

is (chess) a situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece or check can be (textiles|usually|pluralized) a pattern made up of a grid of squares of alternating colors; a checkered pattern.

As an adjective dull is

lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.

check

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) eschec, from . All English senses developed from the chess sense.

Noun

(en noun)
  • (chess) A situation in which the king is directly threatened by an opposing piece.
  • An inspection or examination.
    • I don't know if she will be there, but it's worth a check .
  • A control; a limit or stop.
    • checks and balances
    The castle moat should hold the enemy in check .
  • * Addison
    • a remarkable check to the first progress of Christianity
  • (US) A mark (especially a checkmark: ) used as an indicator, equivalent to a tick (UK) .
    • Place a check by the things you have done.
  • (US) An order to a bank to pay money to a named person or entity; a cheque (UK, Canada) .
    • I was not carrying cash, so I wrote a check for the amount.
  • (US) A bill, particularly in a restaurant.
    • I summoned the waiter, paid the check , and hurried to leave.
  • A maneuver performed by a player to take another player out of the play.
    • The hockey player gave a good hard check to obtain the puck.
  • A token used instead of cash in gaming machines.
  • * 1963 , American law reports annotated: second series (volume 89)
  • A lengthwise separation through the growth rings in wood.
  • A mark, certificate, or token, by which, errors may be prevented, or a thing or person may be identified.
    • a check''' given for baggage; a return '''check on a railroad
  • (falconry) The forsaking by a hawk of its proper game to follow other birds.
  • A small chink or crack.
    • Synonyms
    * (note of monetary transfer) cheque * (indicator mark) tick (UK), checkmark, * (bill of sale) cheque (Canada)
    Descendants
    * German: * Spanish:

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To inspect; to examine.
    • Check the oil in your car once a month.
    Check whether this page has a watermark.
  • To mark with a checkmark.
    • Check the correct answer to each question.
  • To control, limit, or halt.
    • Check your enthusiasm during a negotiation.
  • * Burke
    • so many clogs to check and retard the headlong course of violence and oppression
  • * 1922 , (James Joyce), Chapter 13
    • She was about to retort but something checked the words on her tongue.
  • To verify or compare with a source of information.
    • Check your data against known values.
  • To leave in safekeeping.
    • Check your hat and coat at the door.
  • To leave with a shipping agent for shipping.
    • Check your bags at the ticket counter before the flight.
  • To pass or bounce the ball to an opponent from behind the three-point line and have the opponent pass or bounce it back to start play.
    • He checked the ball and then proceeded to perform a perfect layup.
    That basket doesn't count—you forgot to check !
  • To physically remove a person from play.
    • The hockey player checked the defenceman to obtain the puck .
  • (poker) To remain in a hand without betting. Only legal if no one has yet bet.
    • Tom didn't think he could win, so he checked .
  • (chess) To make a move which puts an adversary's piece, especially the king, in check; to put in check.
  • To chide, rebuke, or reprove.
  • * Shakespeare
    • The good king, his master, will check him for it.
  • (nautical) To slack or ease off, as a brace which is too stiffly extended.
  • To crack or gape open, as wood in drying; or to crack in small checks, as varnish, paint, etc.
  • To make checks or chinks in; to cause to crack.
    • The sun checks timber.
  • To make a stop; to pause; with at .
  • * John Locke
    • The mind, once jaded by an attempt above its power, either is disabled for the future, or else checks at any vigorous undertaking ever after.
  • (obsolete) To clash or interfere.
    • (Francis Bacon)
  • To act as a curb or restraint.
  • * Dryden
    • It [his presence] checks too strong upon me.
  • (falconry) To turn, when in pursuit of proper game, and fly after other birds.
  • * Shakespeare
    • And like the haggard, check at every feather / That comes before his eye.
    Derived terms
    * check in * check into * check out * check over * check through * check up
    Derived terms
    * bad check * bed check * body check * bounce a check * cashier's check * check against * checkbook * check casher * checker * checkers * checkered * checking * checking account * check in * check into * checking account * check is in the mail * check a person out * check it out * checklist * checkmate * checkout * check out * check over * checkup * check up on * check valve * checks and balances * counter check * cross-check * discovered check * double check * double-check * hot check * kite a check * put in check * rain check * reality check * recheck * revealed check * shoulder check * stick check * teller's check * traveler's check * unch * unchecked

    Etymology 2

    By shortening from checker, from (etyl) scaccarium, ultimately from the same Persian root as above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (textiles, usually, pluralized) A pattern made up of a grid of squares of alternating colors; a checkered pattern.
    • The tablecloth had red and white check s.

    References

    * * 'Check' at EtymOnline English terms derived from Persian ----

    dull

    English

    Alternative forms

    * dul, dulle

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp.
  • :
  • Boring; not exciting or interesting.
  • :
  • :
  • Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness.
  • :
  • :a dull''' fire or lamp;  a '''dull''' red or yellow;  mirror
  • *(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) (1807-1882)
  • *:As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.
  • *
  • *:A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull , small fire. In fact, that arm-chair had been an extravagance of Mrs. Bunting. She had wanted her husband to be comfortable after the day's work was done, and she had paid thirty-seven shillings for the chair.
  • Not bright or intelligent; stupid; slow of understanding.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:She is not bred so dull but she can learn.
  • *(William Makepeace Thackeray) (1811-1863)
  • *:dull at classical learning
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
    • , chapter=15 citation , passage=She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’}}
  • Sluggish, listless.
  • *(Bible), (w) xiii. 15
  • *:This people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing.
  • *(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • *:O, help my weak wit and sharpen my dull tongue.
  • *, chapter=7
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
  • Cloudy, overcast.
  • :
  • Insensible; unfeeling.
  • *(Beaumont and Fletcher) (1603-1625)
  • *:Think me not / So dull a devil to forget the loss / Of such a matchless wife.
  • Heavy; lifeless; inert.
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:the dull earth
  • *(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) (1807-1882)
  • *:As turning the logs will make a dull fire burn, so changes of study a dull brain.
  • (of pain etc) Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly.
    • Pressing on the bruise produces a dull pain.

    Synonyms

    * See also * See also * (not shiny) lackluster, matte

    Antonyms

    * bright * intelligent * sharp

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp.
    • Years of misuse have dulled the tools.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • This dulled their swords.
  • To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy.
    • He drinks to dull the pain.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Those [drugs] she has / Will stupefy and dull the sense a while.
  • * Trench
    • Use and custom have so dulled our eyes.
  • To lose a sharp edge; to become dull.
    • A razor will dull with use.
  • To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • dulls the mirror

    External links

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