Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US, also check over, check up) to look over, to sum up; to assess, esp. as excl. check this out!

1929		D. Hammett Red Harvest (1965) 3: The first policeman I saw needed a shave. The second had a couple of buttons off his shabby uniform. The third stood [...] directing traffic, with a cigar in one corner of his mouth. After that I stopped checking them up.
1935		‘Ex-Légionnaire 1384’ Arab Patrol 19: I suggested that it might be as well, since the murder had been committed by a white man, to check up all visitors who had entered Constantine during the last few days .
1953		‘John Monahan’ [W.R. Burnett] Big Stan 139: ‘So what’s wrong with a guy asking a beautiful doll to run away with him? What’s wrong with checking up on her?’ .
1961		C. Cooper Jr Weed (1998) 145: We’ll check it out, Chief.
1975		D. Goines Inner City Hoodlum 44: I want you to check him out.
1988		Ice-T ‘Radio Suckers’ 🎵 Check out the sales charts.
1992		V. Headley Yardie 81: Dat same girl deh by the bar, I gwan check her out.
2003		N. Griffiths Stump 13: — There’s a postie a wanner check out anyway, see if it’s screwable.
2007		S. Low Boys from Baghdad 105: He got the message and excused himself, saying he was going out to ‘check things over’.
2015		S. King Finders Keepers (2016) 113: Morris was checking out his girlfriend. [...] ‘What are you looking at, rat-face?’ Womack enquired.
2016		V. McDermid Out of Bounds (2017) 65: ‘Check you out with your scary specs [...] You’re looking good’.

2. (orig. US, also check up) to work out, to fit in.

1934		D. Hammett Thin Man cap. 27: He says there was a train for Boston leaving in a few minutes and he didn't have any dough with him and didn't have time to go home for some [...] and the banks were closed, so he soaked his watch. It checks up.
1955		‘Blackie’ Audett Rap Sheet 116: The three of us dropped down there [...] just to make sure Eddie’s plans was on the beam. They checked out right on the nose.
1969		S. Greenlee Spook who Sat by the Door (1972) 6: The results check out on both computers.
1974		V.E. Smith Jones Men 89: If everything checks out okay, I’ll get back to the Doctor.
1998		I. Welsh Filth 303: This mystery woman’s still no checking out.
2001		G. Pelecanos Right As Rain 57: Looks like everything checked out all right.

3. (W.I.) for a young man, to date a woman regularly and/or visit her home.

1996

Allsopp Dict. Carib. Eng. Usage.

4. to visit; to communicate with.

1972		N.C. Heard To Reach a Dream 142: ‘I gotta split, man . . . check you out tomorrow and give you a whole rundown, okay?’.
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson 18: ‘What the fuckin’ hell are you doing here?’ [...] ‘Checking out the War Memorial’.
1997–2001		Online Sl. Dict. 🌐 check out v [...] 2. to visit, inspect. (‘We checked out that new restaurant but the food was terrible.’).
1999		‘Master Pimp’ Pimp’s Rap 101: I thought I’d [...] check out Grandma.
1999		J. Cameron Brown Bread in Wengen [ebook] ‘Good to chat to you George,’ I goes. ‘Always good to check you out you knows that’.

5. to believe, to accept.

1989

(con. 1982–6) T. Williams Cocaine Kids (1990) 101: I was expecting them to give me more of theirs, you know, but I guess they didn’t have any more. Or else they didn’t want to bring it out. Can you check that out?

6. as sense 1, but in emotional, mental senses, rather than actually using the eyes: to take note of.

1981		W.D. Myers Hoops 46: ‘Now check this out. Even though it’s supposed to be a showcase, the idea of winning or losing is important’.
1991		L. Bing Do or Die (1992) xii: Check this out, y’all! She made a K and a C.
1995		(con. 1985–90) P. Bourjois In Search of Respect 21: Yo! Big Ray! Check out this picture of me in the papers!