checkmate

English

Etymology

From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاهُ مَاتَ‎ (šāhu māta), from Persian شاه مات‎ (šâh mât, “the king [is] amazed”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪt

Interjection

checkmate

  1. (chess) Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.

Synonyms

Translations

Noun

checkmate (plural checkmates)

  1. The conclusive victory in a game of chess that occurs when an opponent's king is threatened with unavoidable capture.
  2. (figuratively, by extension) Any losing situation with no escape; utter defeat.

Translations
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Verb

checkmate (third-person singular simple present checkmates, present participle checkmating, simple past and past participle checkmated)

  1. (transitive, chess) To put the king of an opponent into checkmate.
    That jerk checkmated me in four moves!
  2. (transitive, by extension) To place in a losing situation that has no escape.

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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