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certified check

certified check

3 4.2
A check the bank promises will have enough money to pay someone
  • noun
  • /ˈsɜːrtɪfaɪd tʃɛk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cheque certificado
  • You'll be gettin' a certified check tomorrow.
  • get a certified check

Examples

  • It may take another day or so to submit documentation, obtain a certified check, and put in an application.

    Blog text (14)
  • To secure the auction item, you must provide a certified check as proof of funds.

  • Make it a certified check.

  • Now, as I understand it, there is a certified cheque with my name on it.

  • Within an hour, he signed a release for a certified cheque of 1,000 dollars.

  • You're gonna get a certified check.

  • A certified check for... $5,000?

  • We get a certified check by noon tomorrow, or a sheriff will escort you out of here.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • All it takes is a $100,000 certified check to register for your chance to buy the stunningly elegant spread.

    Blog text (15)
  • The landlord required a certified check to ensure that the rent payment would not bounce.

Synonyms

cashier's check
vscertified check
  • Specialized
12 4.6

A check a bank writes and promises to pay the person who receives it

certifies that the customer's account holds enough funds rather than using bank funds
banker's check
vscertified check
  • UK
1 4.1

A cheque from a bank that you can cash right away and is safer than a personal cheque

specifies that a bank confirms a customer's account has sufficient funds to pay

How Secure

cashier's check
  • Specialized
12 4.6
certified check
  • Specialized
3 4.2
money order
  • US
14 2.8
personal check
  • US
9 2.8
IOU
6 7.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

certified + check

The meaning 'a check guaranteed by a bank' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'certified' (officially recognized/guaranteed) with 'check' (a bank payment order). This compositional noun phrase follows regular English modifier + noun patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The compound noun certified check comes from a bank practice of marking a check as certified after the bank checked the writer's account and set the money aside. That mark told the seller the payment was 'guaranteed', so today the phrase means a check the bank promises will be paid.