stalemate
Use Stalemate in a sentence
noun
1.
Chess. a position of the pieces in which a player cannot move any piece except the king and cannot move the king without putting it in check.
2.
any position or situation in which no action can be taken or progress made; deadlock: Talks between union and management resulted in a stalemate.
verb (used with object)
3.
to subject to a stalemate.
4.
to bring to a standstill.
verb (used without object)
5.
to be or result in a stalemate or standoff: Negotiations stalemated when new salary demands were introduced.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To stalemate
00:10
Stalemate
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
stalemate (ˈsteɪlˌmeɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a chess position in which any of a player's possible moves would place his king in check: in this position the game ends in a draw |
| 2. | a situation in which two opposing forces find that further action is impossible or futile; deadlock |
| —vb | |
| 3. | (tr) to subject to a stalemate |
| [C18: from obsolete stale, from Old French estal | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
stalemate
1765, in chess, from stale "stalemate" (1425) + mate "checkmate" (see checkmate). M.E. stale is probably from Anglo-Fr. estale "standstill" (see stall (2)). A misnomer, since a stale is not a mate. "In England from the 17th c. to the beginning
of the 19th c. the player who received stalemate won the game" [OED]. Fig sense is recorded from 1885.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The stalemate has left many elderly to devise their own strategies for saving money on prescription drugs.
Perhaps someone from another discipline will break the stalemate.
Peace can come only through a stalemate, and a stalemate can come only by silencing the artillery.
The announcement resolved a stalemate that had threatened to cause protests and paves the way for a political transformation.
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
