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chestnut
of paper supplied by a bank on which an order can be
written 2 a written order to a bank to pay a certain sum of
money from your bank account to yourself or to another
person. It is usually made on a CHEQUE: I'd like to pay by
cheque, please, rather than in cash. | She wrote me a cheque. |
If the banks are closed you can cash a cheque (=use a cheque
to get cash) at the Post Office. | We can't issue the tickets for
our flight until your cheque has been cleared. (=the money
has been paid from your bank account) → compare DRAFT;
see also BLANK CHEQUE, TRAVELLER'S CHEQUE
cheque-book BrE || checkbook AmE /'tʃekbʊk/ n a set of
CHEQUES bound together in a small book. When a cheque is
removed, a small piece of paper (a cheque stub) remains, on
which you can write details of who the cheque was paid to,
how much it was for etc.
chequebook 'journalism n [U] low-quality writing espe-
cially connected with TABLOID newspapers, who pay large
amounts of money for details of famous people's private
lives, and print shocking and sensational stories about them
cheque card also banker's card, ,cheque
guaran'tee card n a card given by a bank to those who
have an account with it, which promises that the bank will
pay out the money written on their cheques up to a certain
amount, usually between £50 and £250: I'm afraid we can't
accept/take a cheque without a cheque card. → compare
CHARGE CARD, CHARITY CARD, CREDIT CARD, DEBIT CARD
chequered BrE || checkered AmE /'tʃekəd||-ərd/
adj 1 covered with a pattern of differently coloured squares
→ compare CHECKED 2 (especially of a person's past life)
varied; with many changes of fortune: He'd had a chequered
past but was now determined to be successful. | a chequered
career/history
chequered 'flag, the n a flag covered with black and
white squares, used to signal the start and finish of a motor
race
chequers /'tʃekəz||-ərz/ n → see CHINESE CHEQUERS
Chequers the official country house of the British Prime
Minister, about 30 miles northwest of London
Cher /ʃeə/ (1946–) a US singer and film actress. She is known
for singing in the group Sonny and Cher with her husband
Sonny Bono in the 1960s. Their most popular song was I Got
You Babe. She has made many successful records on her own,
including Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves, If I Could Turn Back Time
and Believe. Her films include Mask and Moonstruck, for
which she won an Oscar.
Cherbourg /'ʃeəbʊəg||'ʃerbʊərg/ a city and port in
northwest France, one of the ports where ships bringing
passengers and cars from the south coast of England arrive
after crossing the English Channel
cherish /'tʃerɪʃ/ v [T] fml 1 to care for tenderly; love: The
old man cherished the girl as if she were his daughter. | his
most cherished possession 2 to keep (hope, love, or other
deep feelings) firmly in mind: I cherish the hope that he will
come back. | cherished memories
Cher·no·byl /tʃɜː'nəʊbəl tʃər-/ a town in Ukraine (for-
merly part of the Soviet Union) where in 1986 an explosion
destroyed large parts of a NUCLEAR power station in the worst
accident involving nuclear power. At least 30 people were
killed at the time, but it is believed that there will be many
more deaths from CANCER in the future, as a result of the
RADIOACTIVE dust which spread over many countries after
the accident.
Cher·o·kee /'tʃerəki:/ n 1 the Cherokee [P] a Native
American tribe from the US states of North Carolina and
Tennessee. The Cherokee had a form of government similar
to that of the US, called the Cherokee Nation. Many Chero-
kee died on the TRAIL OF TEARS, when they were forced to
leave their lands and go to live on a RESERVATION in INDIAN
TERRITORY in what is now the state of Oklahoma 2 [C] a
member of this tribe → see Cultural Note at NATIVE AMERI-
CAN —Cherokee adj: the Cherokee language
che·root /ʃə'ruːt/ n a CIGAR with both ends cut square
cher·ry /'tʃeri/ n 1 [C] a small soft fleshy red, yellow, or
black round fruit with one hard seed in the middle: a cherry
tart | cherry red (=a bright red) 2 [C,U] (the wood of) the tree
on which this fruit grows: a cherry orchard 3 [C usually sing.]
being the state of being without sexual experience; VIRGINITY
(especially in the phrase lose one's cherry) 4 the cherry on
the cake also the cherry on the top — something else that
is pleasant to have, in addition to what is expected: The
videos are primarily made to entertain people. If they learn
something, it's the cherry on the top. → see also another/a
second bite at the cherry (BITE); bowl of cherries (BOWL)
'cherry ,bomb n AmE a large round red FIRECRACKER (small
loud explosive)
,cherry 'tomato n pl. cherry tomatoes a very small TOMATO
cher·ub /'tʃerəb/ n 1 a fat pretty usually male child with
small wings, as shown in old paintings 2 infml a charming
pretty child 3 pl. cherubs or cherubim /-rə'bɪm/ any of the
winged ANGELS guarding the seat of God according to the
Bible → compare SERAPH —ic /tʃə'ru:bɪk/ adj —ically
/kli/ adv
cher·vil /'tʃɜvɪl||'tʃɜːr-/ n [U] a strong-smelling garden plant
(HERB) whose leaves are used to give a special taste to food
Ches·a·peake Bay /'tʃesəpiːk 'beɪ/ a bay (body of water
connected to the sea) on the US east coast, important for
trade and shipping
Che·shire /'tʃeʃə/ a COUNTY in northwest England,
between Liverpool and North Wales
,Cheshire 'cat, the n a character in Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland by Lewis CARROLL, who has the power to disap-
pear and appear very quickly. When Alice asks it to stop
disappearing and appearing so quickly, the cat disappears very
slowly until only its big smile is left. People sometimes say
someone is 'grinning like a Cheshire cat' to mean that they
have a big and rather silly smile on their face. → see also
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
,Cheshire 'cheese n [C,U] a hard white British cheese that
is not strong in taste
chess /tʃes/ n [U] a game for two players, who move their
pieces in turn according to fixed rules across a board in an
attempt to trap (CHECKMATE) their opponent's king. One
player is described as 'black' and the other as 'white'.
chess·board /'tʃesbɔːd||-bɔːrd/ n a square board with 64
black and white squares, each square being next to a square of
a different colour, on which chess or DRAUGHTS is played
chessmen
king queen castle/
rook bishop knight pawn
chess·man /'tʃesmən/ also 'chess piece n pl. -men
/men/ any one of the 16 black or 16 white pieces used in the
game of chess: She set up the chessmen, ready to play.
chest /tʃest/ n 1 the upper front part of the body between
the neck and the stomach, enclosing the heart and lungs: a
hairy chest | He's got a weak chest. (=he gets a lot of coughs
and colds) | a sweater chest size 38 → compare BREAST 2 (the
amount contained in) a large strong box in which valuable
objects are kept, goods packed etc: a chest of tea → see also
CHEST OF DRAWERS, HOPE CHEST, TEA CHEST 3 get some-
thing off one's chest to bring a worry out into the open by
talking about it 4 -chested /tʃestɪd/ having a chest of the
stated kind: a flat-chested woman (=with small breasts)
Ches·ter /'tʃestə/ a town in Cheshire in northwest Eng-
land, where the local government for that COUNTY is based. It
has many historical buildings, and there is a wall around the
old part of the town.
ches·ter·field /'tʃestəfiːld||-ər-/ n a long seat (COUCH) with
a back and sides, thickly filled out with comfortable soft
material and usually covered with leather
chest·nut¹ /'tʃesnʌt/ n 1 [C] a smooth reddish-brown nut
that stays enclosed in a smooth case until ripe, and can be
cooked and eaten 2 [CU] (the wood of) the tree (chestnut