check in

Verb

check in (third-person singular simple present checks in, present participle checking in, simple past and past participle checked in)

1. To announce or record one's own arrival at a hotel, airport etc.
   • We got to the hotel last night and checked in at the front desk.
2. To verify a person's information and record their arrival, such as at a hotel, airport, etc.
   • The clerk checked us in at the front desk.

   Antonyms:

   check out

3. To contact another person in order to keep the other person informed of one's situation.
   • Kelly has to check in with her parole officer today.
   • During the 2 minutes of music, students first PAUSE to check in with how they are feeling.2016, Carla Tantillo Philibert, Everyday SEL in Elementary School, →ISBN
4. (transitive) To return (a book to a library, source code to a repository, etc.).
5. To visit in order to see how someone is doing.
   • I just wanted to check in after your accident. How are you recovering?
   • The sequel checks in with the unmoored but largely lovable characters from the first movie as they face middle age.2017 January 26, Christopher D. Shea, “‘T2 Trainspotting’: The Early Reviews”, in New York Time
6. (intransitive, slang) To enter solitary confinement at one's own request for protection from other prisoners.
   • If an authority exists other than that of the pigs, gay victims of homophobia will not have to check in (into protective custody).1980 February 16, Ed Mead, “untitled”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 29, page 8
7. (slang, transitive) To send somebody to solitary confinement; to make somebody be admitted to solitary confinement.

   Synonyms:

   send up top

8. To integrate new revisions into the public or master version of a file in a version control system.

   Synonyms:

   commit

9. (Netherlands, intransitive, non-native speakers' English) to tap on, to touch in, to tap in (to use a smartcard to start a public transport journey)
   • So how exactly does checking in work? When boarding the bus, tram, metro or train, hold the OV-chipkaart (or your debit card, smartphone, or wearable if using OVPay) in front of the screen of a post or gate. It will indicate with a green light and a beep that the anonymous OV-chipkaart has been...2025, “Paying for public transport in the Netherlands”, in Holland.com, Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions, retrieved 13 Jun 2025
   • You can check in and check out with a contactless debit card or credit card. Registering in advance is not necessary.2025, “How can you pay on our public transport?”, in gvb.nl, Amsterdam Municipal Transport Company, retrieved 13 Jun 2025