checkpoint

Etymology

It is formed from English check + point, from the verb check and the noun point.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In railway use, usually in the plural, one of the points meant to check the speed of a train or to turn it aside: 1862, in the Leeds Mercury.^[2] The OED marks this sense as now rare.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From 1873 the word was used of any point in time or space at which checks are made or information is gathered, for instance to make sure that something is working properly or to measure progress,^[2] and since 1889 of the points that competitors in a race must reach.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates its first sense, a point at which a check is performed, to 1926.^[4] In aviation it named a feature on the ground whose position is known and which a pilot can use to find the aircraft's position, recorded from 1928 in the OED;^[2][4] Etymonline dates the word itself to 1940 and calls it originally an aviators' term for landforms or structures of known height, against which the altitude could be checked by sight.^[3] The best-known sense today, a place where the police, the military or security staff stop people or vehicles for inspection, is recorded from 1934 in the OED,^[2] while Etymonline dates it from 1950.^[3] Computing took the word up in 1954 for an instruction that saves the current state of a system so that it can be restored,^[2] and video games in 2000 for a point at which a player's progress is saved.^[2]

Timeline

• 1862 – on railways, a point for checking the speed or changing the direction of a train.^[2]
• 1873 – a point at which checks are made or progress is assessed.^[2]
• 1889 – a point on a race course that competitors must reach.^[2]
• 1926 – a point at which a check is performed (Merriam-Webster's date).^[4]
• 1928 – in aviation, a landmark used to fix an aircraft's position.^[2]
• 1934 – a place where people or vehicles are stopped for checks.^[2]
• 1935–40 – Dictionary.com's date for the word.^[5]
• 1940 – Etymonline's first date, as an aviators' term.^[3]
• 1954 – in computing, an instruction saving the state of a system.^[2]
• 2000 – in video games, a point at which progress is saved.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A place, for example at a border, where the police, soldiers or security staff stop vehicles or travellers to check their identity or inspect them: Every car was searched at the checkpoint outside the town.^[6][4][2]
2. Any point at which a check is made, for instance of progress or of proper working.^[4][2]
3. One of the points on the route of a race, rally or orienteering course that competitors must reach.^[6][2]
4. In aviation, a feature on the ground with a known position, used by a pilot to find the aircraft's location.^[4][2]
5. In computing, an instruction or moment at which the state of a program or system is saved so that it can be restored later.^[2]
6. In video games, a point part of the way through a game at which a player's progress is saved.^[2]

Related words

• check
• point

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins