checkout line — A line of customers waiting to pay for their purchases at a store
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: A line of customers waiting to pay for their purchases at a store
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈtʃekˌaʊt laɪn/
Example Sentences
- I always choose the checkout line with the fastest cashier, but somehow I still end up behind someone buying 50 lottery tickets.
- The express checkout line is supposed to be for 10 items or less, but nobody seems to know how to count.
- She joined the shortest checkout line at the grocery store.
checkout line
NOUN[/ˈtʃekˌaʊt laɪn/]
A line of customers waiting to pay for their purchases at a store
several customers stand in a single file line holding shopping baskets and pushing carts filled with groceries. Each person waits patiently behind the person in front of them. At the front of the line, a cashier scans items while the first customer prepares to pay. The line extends backward with three more shoppers holding various products and looking toward the checkout counter. A mother with children stands behind a man with a full cart, while another shopper checks her shopping list. a line of customers waiting to pay for their purchases at a store
When customers decline the checkout line, it's time to redesign!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
This compound noun emerged in modern English as a product of combining 'check out' (to verify and depart) with 'line' (queue). The term developed primarily in American English alongside the expansion of supermarket and retail checkout counter systems in the 20th century.
Breakdown
check out (to verify purchases and pay before leaving) + line (a queue of people waiting). The phrase reflects the procedural steps customers take when concluding a shopping transaction.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“I always choose the checkout line with the fastest cashier, but somehow I still end up behind someone buying 50 lottery tickets.”
“The express checkout line is supposed to be for 10 items or less, but nobody seems to know how to count.”
“She joined the shortest checkout line at the grocery store.”
“During Black Friday, the checkout lines stretched all the way to the back of the store.”
“The self-checkout lines are faster unless you're buying alcohol or having technical difficulties.”
📚Related Words
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