spot-checkv.
/ˌspɒtˈtʃɛk/, /ˈspɒttʃɛk/, U.S. /ˈspɑtˌtʃɛk/ Originally U.S.
1. transitive. To subject to a spot check.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > try or test [verb (transitive)] > test accuracy or correctness of > make quick check of random sample
spot-test1913
spot-check1920
1920 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 39 963/2 ‘Spot checking’ selected portions of each of the lightning arrester areas.
1943 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 2 Nov. 1 About 10 per cent of the mail is ‘spot-checked’ by military intelligence to learn whether the censor is doing his job properly.
1962 Guardian 15 Jan. 3/4 I recently saw vehicles being spot-checked by the Ministry of Transport.
1976 C. Weston Rouse Demon (1977) xix. 90 By spot-checking instead of monitoring each complete tape, Adrian had managed to go through seven.
2005 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 7 Aug. xiii. 2/5 If you thought Mom and Dad were the only people allowed to spot-check your sock drawer for contraband, think again.
2. intransitive. To conduct spot checks.
ΚΠ
1920 War Expenditures: Hearings before Subcomm. No. 5 of Comm. on Expend. War Dept. (U.S. House of Representatives, 66th Congr., 2nd Sess.: Serial 6) III. 3526 He never spot checked; in fact, made no personal check of any kind of the employees whom he was paying.
1955 Abilene (Texas) Reporter News 5 Feb. a3 The attorney general said his office and the department of public safety have spot checked in numerous areas.
1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) xxxviii. 277 We spent another forty days spot-checking all over the county.
1993 R. Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1994) 262 We had to swap copies; Henno walked around giving the answers and looking over our shoulders. He spot-checked.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
v.1920