checkmate
[ chek-meyt ]
/ ˈtʃɛkˌmeɪt /
noun
Also called mate. Chess.
- 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), check·mat·ed, check·mat·ing.
Chess. to maneuver (an opponent's king) into a check from which it cannot escape; mate.
to check completely; defeat: Napoleon was checkmated at Waterloo.
interjection
Chess. (used by a player to announce that he or she has put the opponent's king into inextricable check.)
Words nearby checkmate
checkerwork, checkhook, checking account, checklist, checkmark, checkmate, checkoff, checkout, checkpoint, checkpoint charlie, checkrail
Origin of checkmate
1300–50; Middle English chek mat(e) < Middle French escec mat < Arabic shāh māt < Persian: literally, the king (is) checked, nonplussed
OTHER WORDS FROM checkmate
un·check·mat·ed, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for checkmate
British Dictionary definitions for checkmate
checkmate
/ (ˈtʃɛkˌmeɪt) /
noun
chess
- the winning position in which an opponent's king is under attack and unable to escape
- the move by which this position is achieved
utter defeat
verb (tr)
chess to place (an opponent's king) in checkmate
to thwart or render powerless
interjection
chess a call made when placing an opponent's king in checkmate
Word Origin for checkmate
C14: from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic shāh māt, the king is dead; see check
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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