banker's check
1
4.1
- noun
- /ˈbæŋkərz tʃɛk/
- UK
:
cheque de banco
- The seller requested a banker's check to finalize the purchase of the house.
Examples
-
I received a banker's check from the company as payment for my services.
-
Sure, if you're old school enough, you have physical paper checks lying around so you could make one of those out; or you could actually go to a branch and get a money order or banker's check—but if you're young enough, you may not actually know these things.
Blog text (34) -
To ensure a secure transaction, he opted to pay with a banker's check instead of cash.
Synonyms
12
4.6
A check a bank writes and promises to pay the person who receives it
1
5.7
A cheque that a bank promises to pay to the person named
A paper payment that a bank issues and pays from its own money
How Secure
- UK
1
5.7
- Specialized
12
4.6
- UK
1
4.1
- Specialized
3
4.2
- US
9
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
banker's + check
The phrase is directly compositional: 'banker's' specifies the issuer (the bank or banker) and 'check' is the payment instrument, so it literally denotes a check issued by a bank. A B1 learner who knows 'banker/bank' and 'check' can infer this basic meaning easily (although finer legal distinctions about security/payment terms require extra domain knowledge).
Etymology
Banker's check comes from banks writing a check from their own money so the banker promises to pay. Because the bank itself backs the money, the paper is seen as 'more secure' than a personal check, so people use it when they need a safe way to pay.