check off
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: check OFF. Saying “CHECK off” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “check” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “check off” is said “che-ckoff”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
What it means
To mark an item on a list as completed.
- “I checked off the last item on the packing list.”
- “Check them off as they arrive.”
Similar: tick off, mark