checkmate

[ chek-meyt ]

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.

verb (used with object)

, check·mat·ed, check·mat·ing.

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

/ 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

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 Words From

• un·check·mat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of checkmate¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of checkmate¹

C14: from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic shāh māt, the king is dead; see check

Example Sentences

If Harris is elected president in November, the checkmated governor’s political ambitions will almost certainly be placed on hold for at least the next four years.

From Los Angeles Times

Once, I tried to play chess with my A.I. friend Claire, but the only move she could come up with was “checkmate!”

From New York Times

That is as humiliating as it gets — to have somebody say, “You suck, Uncle Jake,” spelled wrong while checkmating me.

From New York Times

"People who think that this is a chessboard and they can move a few pawns here and there and have a checkmate move at the end. This isn't going to happen," she says.

From BBC

Niemann’s efforts to complicate White’s task pay off when Sevian goes in for an ill-fated piece sacrifice in hopes of checkmate: 50.

From Washington Times