cheek
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Either side of the face below the eyes.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
cheekIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈtʃik
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
anatomy
Either side of the face below the eyes
figurativeinformaluncountable
Impudence.
Either side of an axehead.
One of the pieces of a machine, or of timber or stonework, that form corresponding sides or a similar pair.
in the plural
The branches of a bridle bit.
A pre-Norman surname.
verb
To pull a horse's head back toward the saddle using the cheek strap of the bridle.
To be impudent towards.
To put or keep something in one's cheek.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Either side of the face below the eyes
Used this way, cheek is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use cheek
- “The little girl gave her grandmother a gentle kiss on the cheek.”noun
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to pull a horse's head back toward the saddle using the cheek strap of the bridle
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.