How to Use gut check in a Sentence

gut check

noun
Definition of gut checknext
  • This is a gut check spot, and the Chiefs are the AFC's best for a reason.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 25 Oct. 2021
  • All of this amounted to quite the gut check to test the Saints’ resilience.
    — Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2019
  • Elorza doesn’t need to gut check these things with unions or through polling.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2021
  • Rather, Trump thinks of Bannon as his gut check, in the words of one top aide.
    — Philip Rucker, Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2017
  • Tuesday doesn’t end this season, but this is not the time of year for gut checks.
    — Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Sharon was, to so many, a mentor, a friend, our steady guide, our constant gut check.
    — Helen Branswell, STAT, 17 Jan. 2021
  • Why not just call up an academic or two for a gut check?
    — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 31 May 2018
  • Every user should be able to have that gut check—not just those who pay for it.
    — Scott Nover, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2021
  • The coming days will bring one more gut check for an electorate largely locked in and ready to vote.
    — Dan Balz, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Oct. 2020
  • Cook’s half-court heave at the buzzer sailed high off the backboard, and Auburn survived another gut check on the road.
    — Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 5 Feb. 2022
  • Find a side door if that front door isn’t available…Do an internal gut check, and then go for it.
    — Halley Bondy, NBC News, 16 Nov. 2019
  • Instead, two guys made gut check guesses about what could be got through Congress, and that was that.
    — Ryan Cooper, TheWeek, 24 Nov. 2020
  • It was supposed to be the ultimate gut check for a team that has had plenty of them this season.
    — Rod Walker, NOLA.com, 3 Jan. 2021
  • Kentucky coach John Calipari was glad that his team answered a gut check.
    — Gary B. Graves, Houston Chronicle, 9 Jan. 2018
  • This was a gut check and character game to build on moving forward.
    — Adam Lichtenstein, sun-sentinel.com, 24 Aug. 2019
  • Tuesday was a historic night for America and a gut check for the nation.
    — Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, 13 Dec. 2017
  • Start tracking your expenses and do a gut check to see what spending can be cut to help beef up your savings.
    — Kathryn Vasel, CNN, 9 June 2020
  • The loss, their first in regulation at home this season (19-1-3), provided the Black and Gold something of a gut check.
    — Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Jan. 2023
  • The beginning of a new administration is the perfect time to do this gut check.
    — Kevin Xu, Forbes, 1 June 2021
  • This empathetic impulse was the result of years of hard work to step outside himself, to gut check and soul search and learn from past mistakes.
    — Kerry Kennedy, CNN, 5 June 2021
  • Have fun out there, but do a little research to gut check your potential TikTok purchase.
    — Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Case in point was their latest comeback from the brink against Kentucky, a gut check that put them in a familiar place in the Southeastern Conference.
    — USA TODAY, 23 Sep. 2017
  • The team also does a gut check, setting data aside: Is there anything obvious that’s ruining the fun?
    — Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2021
  • If the response still doesn’t sound right, get in touch with a wildlife-conservation organization for a gut check.
    — Stephanie Vermillion, Outside Online, 3 May 2022
  • With the two teams coming off multiple losses and needing a gut check, Miller called his shot and gave the Browns enough bulletin board material to fill up a wall.
    — cleveland, 19 Oct. 2021
  • Charlie Hatch/The Enquirer The gut checks came in a series, one after another, blow after blow.
    — Charlie Hatch, Cincinnati.com, 4 Mar. 2018
  • Historically, a gut check of a housing bubble is the home-price-to-income ratio.
    — Ali Wolf, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2021
  • But the whole thing is a serious gut check about our readiness as a country for the worsening weather extremes being wrought by climate change.
    — Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2021
  • Think through your own five-step career plan: likes and dislikes, long-term goals, ideal job criteria, options, choices in light of your goals and criteria, and a gut check.
    — George Bradt, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021
  • But those numbers pass a simple gut check, providing more information about something that was already easy to observe about the show.
    — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 15 Mar. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gut check.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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