spot check
- noun
- /spɑt tʃɛk/
- During the meeting, the manager announced that there would be a spot check of employee performance next week.
- conduct spot checks
- do spot checks
Examples
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As a trained volunteer, I've been asked to initiate spot checks.
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Yet the data collected in the spot checks show that almost 60 percent of the OCC collected is recyclable.
Academic text (1995) -
Well, you know what they say, we need to run a spot check.
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This is a spot check, sir.
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We call this a 'spot check'.
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"Let's do a spot check," Larry says.
Fiction book (1995) -
Some teach students to assess their own work with supervision and spot checks by the teacher.
Academic text (1998) -
We're doing a random spot check to make sure that isn't the case.
Fiction book (1990) -
Another spot check, Bob?
-
The instructors periodically did spot checks to ensure that the responses were being accurately recorded.
Academic text (2012)
Synonyms
An act of looking at something to make sure it is correct
A careful official check to see if something meets rules and is safe
Antonyms
How Thorough
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'spot' (a particular place or moment) combined with 'check' (inspect) yields a straightforward notion of an inspection at a specific spot or occasion, so the idea of a brief or localized inspection is directly derivable from the parts. This noun+verb compound follows common compositional patterns and is likely understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Spot check comes from the idea of looking at one small spot and making a quick check there. Because you inspect only a small place without warning, it now means a short, 'random' inspection to see if things are okay.