Meaning trap
check in
register on arrival
To officially tell someone you have arrived at a hotel, airport, or event, usually by giving your details.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To officially tell someone you have arrived at a hotel, airport, or event, usually by giving your details.
Another meaning of 'check in' is 'contact someone briefly'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- We need to check in at the hotel before 3 p.m.travel
- When I travel for business, I always check in online to save time at the airport.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: check in (at/for something)
WrongWe checked in the hotel at noon.
RightWe checked into the hotel at noon. / We checked in at the hotel at noon.
'Check INTO / check IN AT' a place — bare 'check in the hotel' is wrong.
Patterncheck in (at/for something)
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Check in' is the standard travel verb; 'formally register our arrival' is stiff.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
check in (at/into)at the airportinto the hotelonlinefor the flight
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'check out', which means to leave and pay.
Related
- check in (contact someone briefly) — Another meaning of 'check in' is 'contact someone briefly'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.