disability check
- noun
- /ˌdɪsəˈbɪləti tʃɛk/
- US
- Many people depend on a disability check to support themselves when they cannot work due to their conditions.
- a monthly disability check
- a government disability check
- get disability checks
Examples
-
Providing these hard-to-employ individuals with a welfare or disability check may be better than leaving them homeless, especially if they have children.
Academic text (2003) -
My very first disability check came in the mail!
Blog text (9) -
I saved up my disability checks.
-
Their only income at that point was a Social Security disability check for Tyler, who has Down syndrome.
Blog text (24) -
David's disability checks helped a little, but still they needed a bed, a sofa, hot water, and something to eat.
Fiction book (2002) -
Francis Mays is an unemployed telemarketer living off her disability checks.
-
She relies on a monthly disability check to cover her living expenses.
-
After being diagnosed with a chronic illness, he started receiving a disability check from the government.
Synonyms
A payment from the government to someone who cannot work because of a long-term illness or injury
Money given each month to a person who cannot work because of illness or injury
How Much
- Informal
- US
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a payment for someone who is disabled' is directly derivable from combining 'disability' (a condition causing impairment) with 'check' (a payment instrument), so the compound clearly denotes a payment related to disability. This purpose-based compounding is a common, compositional pattern in English and would be readily inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
The noun disability check comes from the simple image of a check, a payment, given to a person with a disability who cannot work. That's why it means a regular monthly payment 'to help someone who cannot work'.