checkmate
Use Checkmate in a sentence
noun
1.
2.
a complete check; defeat: His efforts to escape met with a checkmate.
verb (used with object)
3.
Chess. to maneuver (an opponent's king) into a check from which it cannot escape; mate.
4.
to check completely; defeat: Napoleon was checkmated at Waterloo.
interjection
5.
Chess. (used by a player to announce that he or she has put the opponent's king into inextricable check.)
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English chek mat(e) < Middle French escec mat < Arabic shāh māt < Persian: literally, the king (is) checked, nonplussed
1300–50; Middle English chek mat(e) < Middle French escec mat < Arabic shāh māt < Persian: literally, the king (is) checked, nonplussed
Related forms
un·check·mat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To checkmate
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Checkmate
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| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
checkmate (ˈtʃɛkˌmeɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | chess |
| a. the winning position in which an opponent's king is under attack and unable to escape | |
| b. the move by which this position is achieved | |
| 2. | utter defeat |
| —vb | |
| 3. | chess to place (an opponent's king) in checkmate |
| 4. | to thwart or render powerless |
| —interj | |
| 5. | chess a call made when placing an opponent's king in checkmate |
| [C14: from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic shāh māt, the king is dead; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
checkmate
c.1346, from O.Fr. eschec mat, ult. from Pers. shah mat, lit. "the king is left helpless," from shah "king" + mat "he is dead."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The winner is determined by knockout, checkmate, or referee decision.
Nearby Words
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