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chessboard

American

[ches-bawrd, -bohrd] / ˈtʃɛsˌbɔrd, -ˌboʊrd /

noun

the board, identical with a checkerboard, used for playing chess.

chessboard British

/ ˈtʃɛsˌbɔːd /

noun

a square board divided into 64 squares of two alternating colours, used for playing chess or draughts

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of chessboard

1400–50; late Middle English. See chess ¹, board

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.

“If you move one piece on the chessboard, it changes everything for your next move,” she says.

From Barron's • Nov. 12, 2025

The so-called "database engineering" has opened the doors to biomedical research for many computer scientists and mathematicians, who often play essential roles on this chessboard.

From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2024

The main difference this time around is that a new piece is dominating the Hill's political chessboard: The election.

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2024

An icy but thawing Tilda Swinton shows up in one section for the kind of chessboard sparring that “Zodiac” was built on.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 19, 2023

Dr. Montague stamped across the room to the chessboard and took up a knight and regarded it furiously.

From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023