cheeky

«cheeky» in Mova's school dictionary: rude or not respectful, but often in a funny or playful way — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (cheeky, cheekier, cheekiest)

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ) Cheeky means rude or not respectful, but often in a funny or playful way. tree →

2) (informal, UK) A cheeky smile or grin is playful and a bit naughty. tree →

3) (slang, UK) "A cheeky" something means a small treat you shouldn't really have: "a cheeky biscuit". tree →

sense in the lessons

In school and home talk adults call children cheeky for answering back. In stories it shows a lively, naughty character. Phrases: cheeky monkey, cheeky grin, don't be cheeky, cheeky so-and-so.

examples

• Don't be cheeky to your teacher! tree →
• He gave me a cheeky grin. tree →
• You cheeky monkey, you ate my chips! tree →
• It was cheeky of her to take the last slice. tree →
• The cheeky seagull stole my sandwich. tree →
• Fancy a cheeky ice cream on the way home? tree →
• "Is that your homework or your dog's?" asked the cheeky boy. tree →
• Granny laughed at his cheeky joke. tree →

note

Informal. Comparative: cheekier, cheekiest. Noun: cheek ("What a cheek!" = how rude). Less common in the USA, where "sassy" or "fresh" is used.

In the corpora

• "Well-preserved" is a cheeky way to say someone is old but still looks good.
• "Cheeky monkey" means a naughty or rude child, said fondly (UK).
• "Cheeky" means rude or disrespectful, often said lightly (UK).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «cheeky» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.