checkmate

[ chek-meyt ]

/ ˈtʃɛkˌmeɪt /

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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.

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.

Chess. (used by a player to announce that he or she has put the opponent's king into inextricable check.)

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1300–50; Middle English chek mat(e) <Middle French escec mat<Arabic shāh māt<Persian: literally, the king (is) checked, nonplussed

un·check·mat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Because when it comes to moving against the virus, we’re a long way from checkmate.
Is School Out Forever?|Daniel Malloy|August 9, 2020|Ozy
Under these circumstances many devices were resorted to to checkmate their political moves.
The Roots of Southern Voter Intimidation|David Frum|February 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Once a case is made that a leak might be imminent, it is checkmate: the agent is thwarted.
Catching the Next WikiLeaker|Eli Lake|October 20, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Somebody knew exactly what was going on, somebody was at work to checkmate the dark design.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White

You and I will try to checkmate that pack if there is anything uncanny in it.
Fifty-Two Stories For Girls|Various
The ruffian was counting confidently on having things his own way, and Matt was wondering how he could checkmate him.
Motor Matt's Mystery|Stanley R. Matthews
Victory for the South became immediately impossible, no matter how long the final checkmate might be delayed.
Invention|Bradley A. Fiske
If the Austrian minister could accomplish this, he could thereby checkmate Prussian ambitions for leadership in Germany.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte|William Milligan Sloane

checkmate

/ (ˈtʃɛkˌmeɪt) /

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