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

A makeshift DJ booth, assembled from a couple of upended shopping carts and some speakers, is at one edge of the checkerboard in the dimly lighted room, underscoring the general do-it-yourself ethos of Rosales’ aesthetic.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2025

Powers and his team repeatedly paired a projected checkerboard visual display with a one-second tone.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 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
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