Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To move a piece placing (an opponent's king) under threat of being taken on the next move with no way of escape or defense possible.
- transitive verb To defeat completely.
- noun A move in chess that checkmates an opponent's king.
- noun The position or condition of a checkmated king.
- noun An utter defeat.
- interjection Used to declare the checkmate of an opponent's king in chess.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In chess, to put in check (an opponent's king), so that he cannot be released. See
checkmate , n., 1. - Figuratively, to defeat; thwart; frustrate; baffle.
- noun In chess, originally, an exclamatory sentence, literally, ′ the king is dead′ : said of the opponent's king when he is in check, and cannot be released from it; hence, the position of being unable to escape from a check.
- noun Hence Figuratively, defeat; overthrow.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The position in the game of chess when a king is in check and cannot be released, -- which ends the game.
- noun A complete check; utter defeat or overthrow.
- transitive verb (Chess) To check (an adversary's king) in such a manner that escape in impossible; to defeat (an adversary) by putting his king in check from which there is no escape.
- transitive verb To defeat completely; to terminate; to thwart.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- interjection chess Word called out by the
victor when making the conclusive move. - noun The conclusive
victory in a game ofchess that occurs when an opponent'sking isthreatened with unavoidablecapture . - noun figuratively, by extension Any situation that has no obvious
escape and involves some personal loss. - verb transitive, chess To put the
king of an opponent into checkmate. - verb transitive, by extension To lead to a situation that has no obvious escape without some personal loss.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game
- noun a chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king
- noun complete victory
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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But, like English-speakers using the word checkmate, French-speakers typically hear no Persian or Arabic meanings in their phrase.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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But, like English-speakers using the word checkmate, French-speakers typically hear no Persian or Arabic meanings in their phrase.
The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010
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You will have the right to be upset if the REAL important part of the ending, the moral checkmate, is gone.
New Watchmen Trailer Will Premiere Online on Thursday Night | /Film 2008
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The problem is that Team Obama and Team Reid are so hung up on playing 11-D chess and putting the Rs in checkmate via a filibuster proof majority that they’ve simply perpetuated the meme that it takes 60 votes to get something done in the Senate.
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Game’s over, but Obama’s too inexperienced a player to realize that checkmate is now unavoidable.
The August Rasmussen Public Trust Numbers. - Moe_Lane’s blog - RedState 2009
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Ten-year-old Jackie Peng called checkmate on the nation, as she brought home the national chess crown for her age group in Quebec City Sunday.
Jackie Peng Wins Age Group Jan 2008
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Ten-year-old Jackie Peng called checkmate on the nation, as she brought home the national chess crown for her age group in Quebec City Sunday.
Archive 2008-07-01 Jan 2008
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The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into checkmate, that is, a position in which the king is under attack but cannot escape.
Conservapedia - Recent changes [en] Joaquín Martínez 2010
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When a King is checkmated, the game is over, and the player initiating the checkmate is the winner.
Conservapedia - Recent changes [en] Joaquín Martínez 2010
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To win, a player must use his pieces to create a situation where the opponent's King is unable to avoid capture (a condition known as checkmate).
Fred's Head from APH 2010
whichbe commented on the word checkmate
Persian phrase "Shah Mat", which means "the king is dead".
May 7, 2008