Say it like this
- Let me run a quick health check on the service.
- The health check is failing — we need to investigate.
- We added a new health check endpoint to improve monitoring.
- Health checks showed the database was down.
- The load balancer removed the instance because its health check failed.
Use it at work
Ops
- The load balancer removes servers that fail the health check.
- Let's add a health check endpoint at /health.
Debugging
- The health check passes, but the app is broken.
- The health check timed out, so the pod restarted.
Teams
- Let's do a team health check in the retro.
- We run a quick project health check every month.
Don't say this
Health check is typically used as a noun. When used as a verb, say 'run a health check' rather than 'health check' alone.
Practice
Try it
4 quick exercises
1. Your team is preparing to deploy. How do you naturally say you will verify the service is working?
2. The load balancer removes any instance whose _______ fails from the active pool.
3. Which sentence uses 'health check' incorrectly?
4. Rewrite this using 'health check' naturally: 'We need to test if the service is working before we send requests to it.'
Say it out loud
Phrase 1 of 5
"Let me run a quick health check on the service."
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More about health check
Real examples(4)
- in a standup
"Our deployment went smoothly — all health checks passed and the service is responding normally."
- in a code review
"I added a health check endpoint that verifies our Redis connection is working before returning success."
- in a Slack message
"The payment service health check has been failing for the last 10 minutes. Can someone check what is happening?"
- in a team meeting
"We should implement health checks for all microservices so we can detect failures automatically."
More mistakes(2)
Handle with care. Often confused with 'health check endpoint' (a specific API endpoint). Do not use to mean personal wellness checks or general system diagnostics outside of software context.
- ✕The health check is a person who checks the system.✓The health check is an automated process that verifies the system is working.
A health check is a process or test, not a person or role.
- ✕We did a health check on the employee.✓We performed a health check on the API endpoint.
Health check in tech refers to system checks, not personal wellness. Avoid using it for people in professional tech settings.
Other forms(2)
- health check noun
"The health check revealed that the database connection was slow."
- run a health check verb (phrasal)
"We need to run a health check before deploying to production."
Often used with(6)
- run a health check · Most common verb phrase; means to execute or perform a health check
- health check passes/fails · Describes the result or status of a health check
- health check endpoint · A specific API endpoint that provides health check information
- periodic health check · A health check that runs automatically at regular intervals
- health check interval · The time period between consecutive health checks
- failed health check · When a health check detects a problem or unavailability
Similar words(5)
- health check endpoint · More specific; refers to the actual API endpoint rather than the check itself
- liveness probe · Kubernetes-specific term; checks if a container is still running
- readiness probe · Kubernetes-specific term; checks if a service is ready to accept traffic
- ping · More general and informal; a simple request to test if something is alive
- status check · More general term; can refer to any verification of system status
Opposites(3)
- service outage
- system failure
- health check failure
Questions(5)
- What does health check mean in software engineering?
- A health check is an automated diagnostic test that verifies a service or application is running correctly and available. It is typically a simple request (like an HTTP GET request) that a monitoring system sends periodically to confirm the service is healthy. If the health check fails, it signals that something is wrong and may trigger automatic actions like restarting the service or alerting engineers.
- How do you use health check in a sentence at work?
- Common usage includes: 'Run a health check on the API before deployment,' 'The health check failed because the database is down,' or 'We added a new health check endpoint to monitor cache performance.' In technical discussions, it is used as both a noun and in the verb phrase 'run a health check.'
- Is health check formal or informal?
- Health check is neutral in formality. It is widely used in all professional tech environments—from casual team chats to formal documentation and architecture meetings. It is standard terminology in the industry, not slang or overly casual.
- What is the difference between a health check and a status check?
- A health check is a specific automated test that confirms a service is running and responsive, typically used in monitoring systems and load balancers. A status check is a broader term for any verification of system state and can refer to manual or automated checks. All health checks are status checks, but not all status checks are health checks.
- What happens when a health check fails?
- When a health check fails, the monitoring system detects that the service is unavailable or unresponsive. Automated responses may include: removing the service from the load balancer, triggering an alert to the engineering team, automatically restarting the service, or initiating failover to a backup system. The exact response depends on how the system is configured.
