checkmate

American  

[chek-meyt] / ˈtʃɛkˌmeɪt /

noun

1. Also called mate.  Chess.

   1. an act or instance of maneuvering the opponent's king into a check from which it cannot escape, thus bringing the game to a victorious conclusion.

   2. the position of the pieces when a king is checkmated.

2. a complete check; defeat.

   His efforts to escape met with a checkmate.

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verb (used with object)

checkmated, checkmating

1. Chess. to maneuver (an opponent's king) into a check from which it cannot escape; mate.

2. to check completely; defeat.

   Napoleon was checkmated at Waterloo.

interjection

1. Chess. (used by a player to announce that they have put the opponent's king into inextricable check.)

checkmate British  

/ ˈtʃɛkˌmeɪt /

noun

1. chess

   1. the winning position in which an opponent's king is under attack and unable to escape

   2. the move by which this position is achieved

2. utter defeat

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verb

1. chess to place (an opponent's king) in checkmate

2. to thwart or render powerless

interjection

1. chess a call made when placing an opponent's king in checkmate

Other Word Forms

• uncheckmated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of checkmate

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English chek mat(e), from Middle French escec mat, from Arabic shāh māt, from Persian: literally, “the king (is) checked, nonplussed”

Explanation

Checkmate is a chess move that makes it impossible for your opponent to win. A checkmate can also be any kind of clear victory. In chess, a checkmate is a move that leaves your opponent with no more options: there is no move that won't result in you getting their king and therefore ending the game. Since a checkmate is so final, the word is used for other kinds of final victories. In basketball, a three-point shot that seals a win could be called a checkmate. In politics, a speech that wins votes and wraps up an election could be called a checkmate.

Example Sentences

Federal lobbying disclosures show that since June, SyberJet paid $490,000 to lobbying firm Checkmate Government Relations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Other disclosures showed that Checkmate workers were deployed to more than 1,200 companies.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2024

Outside the hotel, he shows Poling one of his most extreme dogs - Checkmate.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2023

Checkmate coming: The owners could say, if the union wants salaries to go up when revenues do, that is what the NFL and NBA and NHL do.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2021

Checkmate can only be forced if the Black King is driven to one of the Rook squares of the same colour as the Bishop.

From Hoyle's Games Modernized by Hoffmann, Louis