checkout counter
- noun
- /ˈtʃɛkaʊt ˈkaʊntər/
- There is a reason for all those tabloids one sees at the supermarket checkout counter.
A candy bowl at the checkout counter.
- A candy bowl at the checkout counter.
- Any family member, friend, employer, the person at the checkout counter, the person at the gas pump, it it just applies everywhere.
Examples
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The line was long at the checkout counter as customers waited to pay for their groceries.
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Then, as he was about to approach the checkout counter, he saw exactly what he needed.
Fiction book (1994) -
"We stood near the front checkout counter in a yellow pool of light.
Fiction book (1994) -
We walked up to the checkout counter.
Fiction book (1990) -
So George and I are at the checkout counter, and the girl goes, "if you have food stamps, I need to see them first."
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At the checkout counter, the tablet screen shows the list of purchased items and membership points.
Blog text (27) -
At the checkout counter, he asks me why I'm buying so many vegetables.
Fiction book (2001) -
But when Katherine wheeled her filled basket to the checkout counter and placed her order on the belt, the cookies were gone.
Fiction book (1991) -
As she placed her items on the conveyor belt at the checkout counter, she realized she had forgotten her wallet.
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After shopping for hours, we finally reached the checkout counter to pay for our purchases.
Synonyms
A long flat surface in a shop where people serve or sell items
A counter in a shop where customers pay for things
How Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'checkout' denotes the payment/register area and 'counter' denotes a desk or serving surface, so a 'checkout counter' is transparently a counter where you pay. This noun+noun combination is a common, literal store concept found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The compound checkout counter comes from the simple shop picture where a cashier would check your items and you would go out of the shop. That's why checkout counter means the counter in a store where you pay for your purchases.