Library / English Dictionary

CHEEK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Impudent aggressiveness

Example:

he had the effrontery to question my honesty

Synonyms:

boldness; brass; cheek; face; nerve

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("cheek" is a kind of...):

aggressiveness (the quality of being bold and enterprising)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cheek"):

audaciousness; audacity (aggressive boldness or unmitigated effrontery)

Derivation:

cheek (speak impudently to)

cheeky (offensively bold)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Either of the two large fleshy masses of muscular tissue that form the human rump

Synonyms:

buttock; cheek

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("cheek" is a kind of...):

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Meronyms (parts of "cheek"):

glute; gluteal muscle; gluteus; gluteus muscle (any one of three large skeletal muscles that form the buttock and move the thigh)

Holonyms ("cheek" is a part of...):

body; torso; trunk (the body excluding the head and neck and limbs)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Either side of the face below the eyes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("cheek" is a kind of...):

feature; lineament (the characteristic parts of a person's face: eyes and nose and mouth and chin)

Meronyms (parts of "cheek"):

buccinator muscle; cheek muscle; musculus buccinator (a muscle that flattens the cheek and retracts the angle of the mouth)

arteria buccalis; buccal artery (a branch of the maxillary artery that supplies blood to the buccinator muscle and the cheek)

Holonyms ("cheek" is a part of...):

face; human face (the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An impudent statement

Synonyms:

cheek; impertinence; impudence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("cheek" is a kind of...):

discourtesy; disrespect (an expression of lack of respect)

Derivation:

cheek (speak impudently to)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Speak impudently to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "cheek" is one way to...):

speak; talk (exchange thoughts; talk with)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

cheek (impudent aggressiveness)

cheek (an impudent statement)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He measured the distance away to the fog-bank, and for an instant paused to feel the weight of the wind on his cheek.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He stumbled from weakness and pitched head foremost on his face, cutting his cheek, his pack upon his back.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

He stood up and then sat down again, and the tears rained down his cheeks.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

A flush sprang to the white cheeks of the stranger.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A thin layer of water soluble or insoluble polymer intended to coat the inner surface of the cheek.

(Buccal Film Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

The inner lining of the cheeks.

(Buccal mucosa, NCI Dictionary)

His cheeks were flushed and his eyes shining, for the blood of a hundred fighting Saxon ancestors was beginning to stir in his veins.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His wild eyes, stained cheeks, and unkempt hair all spoke of the sudden blow which had fallen upon the household.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A light glimmered in each of his dull eyes, a tinge of colour came into his wax-like cheeks, and, opening his toothless mouth, he suddenly emitted a peculiar, bell-like, and most musical cry.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The long feathered ears are pendant and hang along its cheeks.

(English Toy Spaniel, NCI Thesaurus)