English

Prepositional phrase

in check

1. Under restraint or control.
   • 1847, Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, ch. 37:

     It was a sudden meeting, and one in which rapture was kept well in check by pain.

   • 1880, Thomas Hardy, The Trumpet Major, ch. 37:

     The old feelings, so religiously held in check, were stimulated to rebelliousness, though they did not show themselves in any direct manner as yet.

   • 1921, Jeffery Farnol, Martin Conisby's Vengeance, ch. 30:

     I . . . espied a small cave, excellent suited to our defence and where two determined men might hold in check a whole army.

   • 2008 Dec. 3, Kate Torgovnick, "Why Do the Mentally Ill Die Younger?," Time:

     Scott also has schizoaffective bipolar disorder, a mental illness she keeps in check with a low dose of Zyprexa.

Usage notes

• Often preceded by the verb hold or keep.

References

• in check at OneLook Dictionary Search