cheek
cheek / chēk/ • n. 1. either side of the face below the eye: tears rolled down her cheeks. ∎ either of the inner sides of the mouth. ∎ inf. either of the buttocks. ∎ either of two side pieces or parts in a structure.2. [in sing.] impertinent talk or behavior: he had the cheek to complain.PHRASES: cheek by jowl close together; side by side: the houses were packed cheek by jowl along the coast. [ORIGIN: from a use of jowl in the sense ‘cheek’; the phrase was originally cheek by cheek.]cheek to cheek (of two people dancing) with their heads close together in an intimate way.turn the other cheek refrain from retaliating when one has been attacked or insulted. [ORIGIN: with biblical allusion to Matt. 5:39.]DERIVATIVES: cheeked adj. [in combination] rosy-cheeked.
