spot checkn.
/ˌspɒt ˈtʃɛk/, /ˈspɒt tʃɛk/, U.S. /ˈspɑt ˌtʃɛk/ Originally U.S.
A check or inspection made on a random or representative sample of a group, or one conducted without prior warning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > [noun] > test or testing for truth or correctness > quick check on random sample
spot test1872
spot check1918
spot-checking1919
1918 Extension Telephone Syst. D.C. ii. 10 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (65th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Doc. 379) I The company..ordered a two-day ‘spot check’ on approximately 100-flat-rate [telephone] lines in five exchanges.
1933 Sun (Baltimore) 15 Aug. 8/1 The spot check made on bread prices from February 15 to August 2 in sixteen representative cities.
1946 N.Y. Times 30 June l25 Spot checks are made but many of these slaughter houses go as long as five weeks without a check.
1972 Daily Tel. 1 Mar. 2 A spot check by the Inner London Education Authority last autumn showed that 17,000 out of 165,000 secondary school pupils were absent that day.
1999 I. Rankin Dead Souls i. 8 Police had a vague description, and spot-checks were being made of visitors' bags and coat pockets.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1918