cheek

Etymology

From Middle English cheeke, cheke, cheoke, choke, from Old English ċēce, ċēace, ċēoce (“cheek; jaw”), from Proto-West Germanic *kākā, *keukā (“jaw, cheek”), from Proto-Germanic *kēkǭ, *keukǭ (“jaw; palate; pharynx”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁- (“to chew”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sooke (“cheek”), West Frisian tsjeak (“jaw”), Dutch kaak (“jaw; cheek”), Swedish käke (“jaw; jowl”), Norwegian kjake (“jaw”), Old Norse kók (“mouth; gullet”).

noun

1. (anatomy) The soft skin on each side of the face, below the eyes; the outer surface of the sides of the oral cavity.
2. (anatomy, informal, usually in the plural) The lower part of the buttocks that is often exposed beneath very brief underwear, swimwear, or extremely short shorts.
3. (figurative, informal, uncountable) Impudence.
   You’ve got some cheek, asking me for money!
4. (biology, informal) One of the genae, flat areas on the sides of a trilobite's cephalon.
5. One of the pieces of a machine, or of timber or stonework, that form corresponding sides or a similar pair.
   the cheeks of a vice
   the cheeks of a gun carriage'
   1. (nautical) pump-cheek, pump-cheeks, a piece of wood cut out fork-shaped in which the brake is fastened by means of a bolt and can thus move around and move the upper box of the pump up and down
6. (in the plural) The branches of a bridle bit. .
7. Either side of an axehead.
8. (metalworking) The middle section of a flask, made so that it can be moved laterally, to permit the removal of the pattern from the mould.

verb

1. To be impudent towards.
   We cheeked him over the fence until he chased us off, and then we went down to the Walton Road and cheeked the carters, keeping on the other side of the hedge so. 1948, George Orwell, Coming Up for Air
   'Well, I do live next door,' I said, in no way antagonistically, and yet I immediately felt as if I had cheeked the headmistress. 2013, Louise Candlish, The Disappearance of Emily Marr
   Don't cheek me, you little rascal!
2. To pull a horse's head back toward the saddle using the cheek strap of the bridle.
   Such horses might need to be "cheeked" for a while. 1964, John Hendrix, If I Can Do It Horseback: A Cow-Country Sketchbook, page 183
   Thurman caught the bridle headstall and cheeked the horse's head near his left knee when he swung aboard. 2009, Dusty Richards, The Sundown Chaser
   He cheeked the horse and stepped into the saddle. 2012, J. Evetts Haley, Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman
3. To put or keep something in one’s cheek.
   The squirrel cheeked some nuts before heading back to it's nest.