Cheek
Cheek (chēk) , noun
[Old English cheke, cheoke, Anglo-Saxon ceàce, ceòce; compare Gothic kukjan to kiss, Dutch kaak cheek; perh. akin to English chew, jaw.]
1.
The side of the face below the eye.
2.
The cheek bone. [Obsolete] — Caucer
3.
(Mechanics) Those pieces of a machine, or of any timber, or stone work, which form corresponding sides, or which are similar and in pair; as, the cheeks (jaws) of a vise; the cheeks of a gun carriage, etc.
4.
The branches of a bridle bit. — Knight
5.
(Founding) A section of a flask, so made that it can be moved laterally, to permit the removal of the pattern from the mold; the middle part of a flask.
6.
Cool confidence; assurance; impudence. [Slang]
Collocations (8)
Cheek of beef , See Illust. of Beef.
Cheek bone (Anatomy) , the bone of the side of the face; esp., the malar bone.
Cheek by jowl , side by side; very intimate.
Cheek pouch (Zoology) , a sacklike dilation of the cheeks of certain monkeys and rodents, used for holding food.
Cheeks of a block , the two sides of the shell of a tackle block.
Cheeks of a mast , the projection on each side of a mast, upon which the trestletrees rest.
Cheek tooth (Anatomy) , a hinder or molar tooth.
Butment cheek , See under Butment.
Cheek (chēk) , transitive verb
To be impudent or saucy to. [Slang.]