heart check

noun

A physical attack on a newly-arrived prisoner to determine whether they're willing to fight.

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Meanings

nounheart check (plural heart checks)

plural heart checks

  1. slangA physical attack on a newly-arrived prisoner to determine whether they're willing to fight.

    I knew about heart checks from Rossetti – one of the few members of my security team who'd been to prison.

    2014, Shaun Attwood, Hard Time: Life with Sheriff Joe Arpaio in America's Toughest Jail
Cite this entry
APA

heart check. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heart%20check

MLA

“heart check.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heart%20check. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “heart check,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/heart%20check.

Source: heart check on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.