chequer

C3H4E1Q10U1E1R1
/ˈt͡ʃɛkə/US/ˈt͡ʃɛkɚ/

noun

The edible fruit of the wild service tree, Sorbus torminalis.

Similar
checkercheck
UncommonScrabble 21
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Meanings

chequer1

nounchequer (plural chequers)

plural chequers

  1. The edible fruit of the wild service tree, Sorbus torminalis.
  2. UKalternativeAlternative spelling of checker.
verbchequer (third-person singular simple present chequers, present participle chequering, simple past and past participle chequered)

present singular third person chequers · participle present chequering · participle past chequered · past chequered

  1. UKalternativeAlternative spelling of checker.

    Our minds are, as it were, chequered with truth and falsehood.

    1711 December 11 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, December 1, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 237; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC
    1 more example

    A gleam of sun shining through the unsashed window, and chequering the dark workshop with a broad patch of light, fell full upon him, as though attracted by his sunny heart.

    1841 February–November, Charles Dickens, “Barnaby Rudge. (please specify the chapter number)”, in Master Humphrey’s Clock, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC

Chequer2

proper nounChequer (plural Chequers)

plural Chequers

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounone of the flat round pieces used in playing the game of checkers

Similar
checker
Broader
manpiece

verbmark into squares or draw squares on; draw crossed lines on

Similar
checkchecker
Broader
draw

verbvariegate with different colors, shades, or patterns

Similar
checker
Broader
varyvariegatemotley
Also see
checkchecker

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

See checker. (fruit): Apparently in allusion to the chequered or spotted appearance of the fruit. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “the surmises that chequer may be a corruption of choker, and that ‘choker’ may once have been the name, are gratuitous.”

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

chequer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chequer

MLA

“chequer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chequer. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chequer,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chequer.

Source: chequer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.