cheek

—cheekless, adj.

/cheek/, n.

1. either side of the face below the eye and above the jaw.

2. the side wall of the mouth between the upper and lower jaws.

3. something resembling the side of the human face in form or position, as either of two parts forming corresponding sides of various objects: the cheeks of a vise.

4. impudence or effrontery: He's got a lot of cheek to say that to me!

5. Slang. either of the buttocks.

6. Archit.

a. one side of an opening, as a reveal.

b. either of two similar faces of a projection, as a buttress or dormer.

7. Carpentry.

a. a piece of wood removed from the end of a timber in making a tenon.

b. a piece of wood on either side of a mortise.

8. one side of a hammer head.

9. Horol. one of two pieces placed on both sides of the suspension spring of a pendulum to control the amplitude of oscillation or to give the arc of the pendulum a cycloidal form.

10. one of the two main vertical supports forming the frame of a hand printing press.

11. Mach. either of the sides of a pulley or block.

12. Naut. either of a pair of fore-and-aft members at the lower end of the head of a lower mast, used to support trestletrees which in turn support a top and often the heel of a topmast; one of the hounds of a lower mast.

13. Metall. any part of a flask between the cope and the drag.

14. cheek by jowl, in close intimacy; side by side: a row of houses cheek by jowl.

15. (with) tongue in cheek. See tongue (def. 29).

[bef. 900; ME cheke, OE ce(a)ce; akin to D kaak, MLG kake]

Syn. 4. nerve, audacity, brass, gall.

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