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

But will either help their team to a checkmate position by full-time?

From BBC • Nov. 26, 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

Ackman presented the director’s allyship as a checkmate even though, once again, neither he nor Oxman denied any of the reporting on the substance.

From Slate • Jan. 10, 2024

Black rightly seeks queenside counterplay but can’t shake White’s single-minded focus on checkmate on the other wing: 19.

From Washington Times • Sep. 12, 2023

The judge thought of their last game: She had been so excited about taking his queen, only to have the master checkmate her in the next move.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin