checkerboard

American  

[chek-er-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈtʃɛk ərˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

1. a board marked off into 64 squares of two alternating colors, arranged in eight vertical and eight horizontal rows, on which checkers or chess is played.

2. a design resembling this.

   The garden was laid out in a checkerboard.

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verb (used with object)

1. to arrange in or mark with a checkerboard pattern.

   a wall checkerboarded with black and white tiles.

checkerboard British  

/ ˈtʃɛkəˌbɔːd /

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): draughtboard.  a square board divided into 64 squares of alternating colours, used for playing checkers or chess

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Etymology

Origin of checkerboard

First recorded in 1765–75; checker ¹ + board

Example Sentences

But to try one of Vancouver’s most beloved Chinese restaurants, make for Chinatown BBQ, where the checkerboard floors and hanging meat evoke a classic Cantonese chopshop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

For added whimsy, the tree is the centerpiece of an “Alice in Wonderland”-style checkerboard of tile and grass.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 15, 2025

Indeed, in the brain scan study, voice hearers with diagnosed schizophrenia were the last to catch on when the researchers made the appearance of the checkerboard more independent from the tone.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2025

This outfit combined the designer's two famous patterns - the LV monogram pattern on the waistcoat and jacket, as well as the damier checkerboard on the shorts.

From BBC • May 5, 2025

Not that he’d recognized its divinity at first — not in this flat rectangle wrapped in checkerboard paper; its attached clump of gray ribbon curlicues looked like the head of a mop.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Related Words

• chain
• grid
• net
• organization
• structure
• system
• web