checkpoint

Thân thiện

A car stops at a military checkpoint on a desert road.

Definition

Noun: 1. A designated place where people or vehicles are stopped for official inspection, verification, or clearance. This is typically a location, such as at a border, within a military zone, or on a road, where authorities stop travelers to examine documents, search for contraband, or verify authorization to proceed.

Usage

The word "checkpoint" is used to describe a fixed or temporary location where passage is controlled. It implies a formal or official stop. * It is commonly used in contexts involving security, borders, travel, and military operations. * It functions as a countable noun (e.g., a checkpoint, several checkpoints).

Examples

• Noun:
  • We had to stop at a military checkpoint on the road to the capital.
  • All luggage must pass through the security checkpoint before you enter the departure lounge.
  • The border guards meticulously inspected our passports at the checkpoint.

Advanced Usage

• "To pass a checkpoint" / "To clear a checkpoint": To be allowed to proceed after inspection at a checkpoint.
  • It took an hour to clear the checkpoint due to heavy traffic.
• "To set up a checkpoint" / "To man a checkpoint": To establish or to be stationed at a checkpoint.
  • Police set up a checkpoint to catch drunk drivers.
• "Checkpoint control": The system or process of monitoring movement through checkpoints.
  • The area is under strict checkpoint control.

Variants and Related Words

• Checkpointing (gerund/noun): The act or process of establishing or using checkpoints. (Common in computing contexts, see below).
• Roadblock (noun): A barrier set up across a road to stop and examine traffic. A roadblock is a type of checkpoint, often more temporary or improvised.

Different Meanings / Contexts

• Computing / Gaming: A checkpoint is a point in a program, process, or video game where progress is saved so that the user can restart from that point if there is a failure.
  • The game automatically creates a checkpoint after you complete each level.
  • The software saves your data at regular intervals; these checkpoints prevent total data loss.

Synonyms

• Inspection point: A place for examination.
• Control point: A place where movement is regulated.
• Barrier: Something that blocks passage (can be part of a checkpoint).
• Gate: An entry or exit point that can serve as a checkpoint.

Idioms / Common Phrases

• "To hit a checkpoint": (Informal) To encounter or reach a checkpoint.
  • We hit a checkpoint just outside the city limits.
• "Checkpoint Charlie": The famous crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War, now often used as a cultural reference for a tense or historically significant border checkpoint.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a place (as at a frontier) where travellers are stopped for inspection and clearance