Checkmate Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms 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.

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

"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

verb

1. chess to place (an opponent's king) in checkmate

2. to thwart or render powerless

"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

interjection

1. chess a call made when placing an opponent's king in checkmate

"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

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”

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.

But the moment Washington forced an error by the Broncos’ defense, the Huskies called checkmate.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From BBC

If this is supposed to be some 4-D chess move, it looks an awful lot like checkmate — for the wrong side.

From Salon

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

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.