checkmate
Other forms: checkmated; checkmating; checkmates
Checkmate is a chess move that makes it impossible for your opponent to win. A checkmate can also be any kind of clear victory.
In chess, a checkmate is a move that leaves your opponent with no more options: there is no move that won't result in you getting their king and therefore ending the game. Since a checkmate is so final, the word is used for other kinds of final victories. In basketball, a three-point shot that seals a win could be called a checkmate. In politics, a speech that wins votes and wraps up an election could be called a checkmate.
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a chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's kingsynonyms: matetype of:chess movethe act of moving a chess piece
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complete victory
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place an opponent's king under an attack from which it cannot escape and thus ending the game
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Vocabulary lists containing checkmate
Widely recognized as one of the greatest and most difficult board games in the world, chess originated in India in the 6th century C.E., spreading into Persia and the Muslim world — undergoing rule changes over the course of many centuries — before arriving in Europe and beyond. Learn this list and become a vocabulary grandmaster!
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