Word.ws English Dictionary

spot check

spot check noun: a cursory inspection or examination, especially of a sample of something.

Noun

spot check (plural spot checks)

  1. (idiomatic) A cursory inspection or examination, especially of a sample of something.
    • They do not measure each one, but they do a spot check on a few parts before shipping.
    • Though the author consulted with two doctors (a spot check with another doctor reveals some medical information to be stale by at least five years), […]1979 April 28, Jim Davis, “Unhealthy Attitudes”, in Gay Community News, page 12

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To inspect or examine briefly, or by sampling.
    • They spot check the rooms periodically for problems.

Forms of spot check

Noun
pluralspot checks
alternative formspot-check
Verb
third-person singular presentspot checks
present participlespot checking
past participlespot checked
pastspot checked

Questions about spot check

What does spot check mean?
Spot check means a cursory inspection or examination, especially of a sample of something.
What part of speech is spot check?
Spot check can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of spot check?
The plural of spot check is spot checks.

Words near spot check in the dictionary

  1. spot beam
  2. spot beams
  3. spot card
  4. spot cards
  5. spot cash
  6. spot check
  7. spot checked
  8. spot checking
  9. spot checks
  10. spot clean
  11. spot cleaned

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spot check (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-spot check.ogg.

Cite this entry: “spot check.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/spot_check. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.