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🧥 A coatroom 🧥 To leave at coatroom 🎟️ A claim ticket
hat check

hat check

3.0
A place in a public building where people leave hats and coats to keep them safe
  • noun
  • /hæt tʃɛk/
  • US
translation icon : guardarropa
  • Before the concert began, I dropped off my hat at the hat check for safekeeping.

Examples

  • I was the hat check girl   at the Improv,   and I was an actress.

    Funny People (2009)

  • I've got this other girl waitin' for me at the hat check.

    Marty (1955)

  • After entering the theater, we handed our coats at the hat check before finding our seats.

  • The hat check at the gala was very efficient, ensuring all guests received their belongings promptly.

Synonyms

coatroom
vshat check
4 2.1

A room in a public place where people leave coats and bags

is specific to hats and coats and usually staffed by an attendant
checkroom
vshat check
  • US
1 3.5

A room where people leave coats or bags for a short time

is more specific to hats and coats and usually staffed by an attendant

Surface Forms

hat check singular
hat checks plural

Morphology

hat + check

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'hat' (a head covering) with 'check' (to hand over an item for temporary storage). This noun+verb composition follows common English patterns (as in 'check your coat') and is cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Hat check comes from old theaters and hotels where an attendant took people's hats at a check desk and kept them safe until the owner returned. So, it means 'a place where hats and coats are left for safekeeping'.