checkmate
Americannoun
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checkmates
plural
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Also called mate. Chess.
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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.
-
the position of the pieces when a king is checkmated.
-
-
a complete check; defeat.
His efforts to escape met with a checkmate.
verb (used with object)
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checkmates,
present (3rd person singular)
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checkmated,
past participle, past
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checkmating
present participle
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Chess. to maneuver (an opponent's king) into a check from which it cannot escape; mate.
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to check completely; defeat.
Napoleon was checkmated at Waterloo.
interjection
noun
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chess
-
the winning position in which an opponent's king is under attack and unable to escape
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the move by which this position is achieved
-
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utter defeat
verb
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chess to place (an opponent's king) in checkmate
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to thwart or render powerless
interjection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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checkmatesimple
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checkmatessimple
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have checkmatedperfect
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has checkmatedperfect
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am checkmatingprogressive
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are checkmatingprogressive
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is checkmatingprogressive
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have been checkmatingperfect progressive
-
has been checkmatingperfect progressive
Past
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checkmatedsimple
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had checkmatedperfect
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was checkmatingprogressive
-
were checkmatingprogressive
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had been checkmatingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing checkmate
Check It Out, Mate: Chess Vocabulary
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10 Words for Victory
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Garvey's Choice
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I managed to checkmate myself," said Grant, "which as far as I'm aware, has never been done"
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
And even though a cellphone can now checkmate Garry Kasparov, artificial intelligence hasn’t managed to concoct a foolproof plan to win every time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
But the moment Washington forced an error by the Broncos’ defense, the Huskies called checkmate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 14, 2025
If this is supposed to be some 4-D chess move, it looks an awful lot like checkmate — for the wrong side.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2025
“How can you checkmate a circus? It doesn’t make any sense.”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The finale presents a remarkable range of checkmates for the hapless Black king: 24.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Rxa8, and White soon to be queened pawn will help deliver checkmates in a couple of moves.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
She exploits every scrap of ironic humor, as Richard gloatingly checkmates all who stand in her way.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2018
Karjakin threatened no less than four checkmates, and there’s no way Carlsen could have sidestepped them all.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2016
In sixty seconds flat, she checkmates her opponent’s king.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
"You've been crying behind the scenes to get out of this fight. I've checkmated you. You have to fight," Fury replied.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
After years of jostling with Alatorre and his protege, Richard Polanco, Villaraigosa won over the former and checkmated the latter in his successful run for mayor in 2005.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
It insisted the game was a draw, even though I had thoroughly checkmated my kid.
From The Verge ● Nov. 5, 2021
Both outcomes would ensure, they calculated, a shift in the regional balance of power in their favor and that their geopolitical rival Iran would be checkmated for the foreseeable future.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 12, 2019
Papa had just checkmated Jaja when we heard the martial music on the radio, the solemn strains making us stop to listen.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
That is as humiliating as it gets — to have somebody say, “You suck, Uncle Jake,” spelled wrong while checkmating me.
From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2024
Partly that was because of the checkmating defense by his old coach, Bill Belichick, and partly it was the pelting rain and chill winds, which had once been his home-field allies.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 4, 2021
Harris was also asked about Chargers receiver Keenan Allen’s dismissive comments about Harris last week after the Broncos star cornerback was primarily responsible for checkmating the league’s top receiver in Denver’s 20-13 win.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 15, 2019
They imagined they could corral him and use him to achieve their own purposes, such as checkmating labor unions and reasserting German strength.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 19, 2018
But the British kept their hold on the city of Bagdad, thus checkmating the German scheme of a Berlin-Bagdad railway and protecting India from any offensive on this side.
From A School History of the Great War by Armand Jacques Gerson
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