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When user is presented with a checkbox on a webpage. What can he/she do with it in order to place a little birdy inside it?

  • check (Please, check the checkbox...)
  • tick (Please, tick the checkbox...)
  • mark (Please, mark the checkbox...)
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Uh, flip the bird? – Robusto Aug 18 '11 at 18:53
You answered your own question. All three can be used. My favorite is tick the checkbox. – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Aug 18 '11 at 18:56
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Related: Untick/Uncheck – KitFox♦ Aug 18 '11 at 19:13

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

You could consider select too.

Please select the checkbox.

The meaning of checkbox reported by the NOAD is the following one:

a small box on a computer screen that, when selected by the user, is filled with an X to show that the feature described alongside it has been enabled.

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Also "click", although "select" is more correct. – JeffSahol Aug 18 '11 at 19:12
If adhering to Microsoft style guidelines (documentation section at the bottom here) select and its opposite clear are the things you do with a check box (two words, for check box, in this style). Here's another example from a review of the Microsoft Manual of Style. Some authors and products follow these styles just to be consistent with what is familiar. – aedia λ Aug 18 '11 at 19:18
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"Select" is ambiguous to me: it could also mean "give it focus" or "highlight it by holding the left mouse button and dragging". – Peter Taylor Aug 18 '11 at 19:29
Our internal style guide calls for "select" and "clear" as well. – unexplainedBacn Aug 18 '11 at 20:01

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