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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

cheek.

The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/t͡ʃiːk/

  1. The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.

    countable · uncountable

  2. The lower part of the buttocks that is often exposed beneath very brief underwear, swimwear, or extremely short shorts.

    countable · informal · plural-normally · uncountable

  3. Impudence.

    figuratively · informal · uncountable
    You’ve got some cheek, asking me for money!

  4. One of the genae, flat areas on the sides of a trilobite's cephalon.

    countable · informal · uncountable

  5. One of the pieces of a machine, or of timber or stonework, that form corresponding sides or a similar pair.

    countable · uncountable
    the cheeks of a vice
    the cheeks of a gun carriage

  6. One of the pieces of a machine, or of timber or stonework, that form corresponding sides or a similar pair. pump-cheek, pump-cheeks, a piece of wood cut out fork-shaped in which the brake is fastened by means of a bolt and can thus move around and move the upper box of the pump up and down

    countable · uncountable

  7. The branches of a bridle bit.

    countable · in-plural · uncountable

  8. Either side of an axehead.

    countable · uncountable

  9. The middle section of a flask, made so that it can be moved laterally, to permit the removal of the pattern from the mould.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English cheeke, cheke, cheoke, choke, from Old English ċēce, ċēace, ċēoce (“cheek; jaw”), from Proto-West Germanic *kākā, *keukā (“jaw, cheek”), from Proto-Germanic *kēkǭ, *keukǭ (“jaw; palate; pharynx”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁- (“to chew”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sooke (“cheek”), West Frisian tsjeak (“jaw”), Dutch kaak (“jaw; cheek”), Swedish käke (“jaw; jowl”), Norwegian kjake (“jaw”), Old Norse kók (“mouth; gullet”).

verb/t͡ʃiːk/

  1. To be impudent towards.

    Don't cheek me, you little rascal!

  2. To pull a horse's head back toward the saddle using the cheek strap of the bridle.

  3. To put or keep something in one’s cheek.

    The squirrel cheeked some nuts before heading back to its nest.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English cheeke, cheke, cheoke, choke, from Old English ċēce, ċēace, ċēoce (“cheek; jaw”), from Proto-West Germanic *kākā, *keukā (“jaw, cheek”), from Proto-Germanic *kēkǭ, *keukǭ (“jaw; palate; pharynx”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁- (“to chew”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sooke (“cheek”), West Frisian tsjeak (“jaw”), Dutch kaak (“jaw; cheek”), Swedish käke (“jaw; jowl”), Norwegian kjake (“jaw”), Old Norse kók (“mouth; gullet”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.