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checkmate

check·mate

UK/ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/ US/ˈtʃɛˌkmeɪt/ fairly common
noun (2) verb (1)

noun

1.
2.

a chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent''s king

Synonyms

verb

1.

place an opponent''s king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game

  • “Kasparov checkmated his opponent after only a few moves”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Classical Persian شاه مات (šāh māt, “the king [is] amazed”).

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.