as in bum
the part of the body upon which someone sits
he dropped his pants and flashed his cheeks at the opposing team
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of cheeks
Robbie’s character, Cathy, appears with soft, balmy lips and noticeably flushed cheeks.
—
Jesa Marie Calaor, Allure, 10 Feb. 2026
Beckham likes to apply the tint across her nose and the top of her cheeks to channel a fresh-off-the-beach flush.
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2026
Tears — and mascara — streaked her cheeks.
—Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The Running Point actress accentuated her features with an iridescent frosty white and light pink eyeshadow, a dusting of highlighter on her pink cheeks, and a glossy nude lipstick.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 9 Feb. 2026
Nitibhon, a Thai supermodel, plays her tycoon as comically drab, keeping her gaunt cheeks slack to emphasize her character’s hollowness.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Ma crawls toward you and plants her palms on your cheeks.
—Molly Aitken, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
Dark spots and patches on the face, nose, chin, and cheeks (known as melasma) are one of the most notable skin changes during pregnancy, affecting around 35 to 75 percent of people.
—Alex Vance, Parents, 29 Jan. 2026
An older woman, a friend of my mother’s (my mother was also a teacher at the school), walked over and pinched my cheeks, first one and then the other, as an adult might do to an infant.
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
Jesa Marie Calaor, Allure, 10 Feb. 2026
Beckham likes to apply the tint across her nose and the top of her cheeks to channel a fresh-off-the-beach flush.
—Jenny Berg, Vogue, 9 Feb. 2026
Tears — and mascara — streaked her cheeks.
—Howard Fendrich, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The Running Point actress accentuated her features with an iridescent frosty white and light pink eyeshadow, a dusting of highlighter on her pink cheeks, and a glossy nude lipstick.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 9 Feb. 2026
Nitibhon, a Thai supermodel, plays her tycoon as comically drab, keeping her gaunt cheeks slack to emphasize her character’s hollowness.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Ma crawls toward you and plants her palms on your cheeks.
—Molly Aitken, New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2026
Dark spots and patches on the face, nose, chin, and cheeks (known as melasma) are one of the most notable skin changes during pregnancy, affecting around 35 to 75 percent of people.
—Alex Vance, Parents, 29 Jan. 2026
An older woman, a friend of my mother’s (my mother was also a teacher at the school), walked over and pinched my cheeks, first one and then the other, as an adult might do to an infant.
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheeks
Noun
-
Here, in the rugged, remote Santa Cruz Mountains, one of California’s coastal ranges, the counterculture had found one of its first bucolic, dharma-bum milieus.—
Scott Eden,
Rolling Stone,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Aspen, Colorado In 1989, when a five-star, ski-in, ski-out hotel called the Little Nell opened on the site of a ski-bum bar, Aspen left its counterculture hippie days in the dust and transitioned to an A-list playground.—
Amy Tara Koch,
Robb Report,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Langmuir showed that the molecules oriented themselves in a consistent way, looking like little tadpoles with the hydrophilic head, the end that likes water, toward the water, and the hydrophobic tail, the end that dislikes water, sticking up into the air.—
Natalia Sánchez Loayza,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
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Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights remain unlit, minimizing the chance of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Before sunrise, dozens of people were in line outside the court building to secure a seat in the courtroom.—
Kanis Leung,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
One of the city’s star attractions is the huge 25,000-seat Great Theater, used for theatrical performances, public assemblies, religious ceremonies and, in the Roman era, gladiatorial battles.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The lineage of her home party, Fratelli d’Italia, or Brothers of Italy, traces back to the rump of Mussolini’s fascists.—
Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager,
The Conversation,
11 Feb. 2026
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In 70 experiments conducted over a few days, Veronika applied the implement exclusively to hard-to-reach areas, like her rump, loin, thurl and navel flap.—
Leslie Katz,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Spanxsmooth Swim styles will include string bikini tops and bottoms, a bandeau bikini top, and a scoop-neck one-piece.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Neodymium is a rare earth, one of the minerals near the bottom of the periodic table that are crucial for everyday life.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cheeks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheeks. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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