checkmate
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checkmate
- /ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/
Where it comes from
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”).
interjection check and mate
- Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.
- Said when one has placed a person in a losing situation with no escape.
Similar: mate
noun checkmates
- The conclusive victory in a game of chess that occurs when an opponent's king is threatened with unavoidable capture. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the checkmate position was in accordance with Article 3 and Articles 4.2 – 4.7.
- Any losing situation with no escape; utter defeat.
verb checkmates · checkmating · checkmated
- To put the king of an opponent into checkmate. My opponent checkmated me in four moves!
- To place in a losing situation that has no escape. Where is it? What does SCP-3125 look like? Its motivation, its origins, its modus operandi— how much of that can be known? Does it have to be known, to solve the problem? Does it matter how intelligent the intelligence is, once it's inside the box, once it's checkmated?
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: defeat, mate, mat, brinkmate, endgame, check, threatmate, fool's mate, reflexmate, perpetual check, selfmate, ladder mate, back-rank mate, epaulette mate, stipulation, boden's mate
interjection
Similar: mate
Translations
Every language
intj said when making the conclusive move in chess
| Español | jaque mate, mate |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 외통수 oetongsu, 체크메이트 chekeumeiteu |
| 日本語 | チェックメイト chekkumeito, 詰み tsumi |
| 中文 | 將軍 /将军 jiāngjūn |
| हिन्दी | मात māt, शहमात śahmāt |
| Português | xeque-mate, xaque-mate |
| Français | échec et mat |
| Deutsch | schachmatt, schach und matt |
| Italiano | scacco matto |
| Ελληνικά | ματ mat |
| Română | șah mat, mat |
| Русский | мат mat, шах и мат šax i mat |
| Tiếng Việt | chiếu tướng, chiếu hết |
| العربية | شَاهْ مَات šāh māt, مَات māt, كِش مَلِك kiš malik |
| עברית | מָט mat |
noun conclusive victory in a game of chess
| Español | jaque mate, mate |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 체크메이트 chekeumeiteu, 외통수 oetongsu |
| 日本語 | 詰み tsumi, チェックメイト chekkumeito |
| 中文 | 將死 /将死 jiāngsǐ, 將軍 /将军 jiāngjūn |
| हिन्दी | शहमात śahmāt |
| Português | xeque-mate, xaque-mate |
| Français | échec et mat |
| Deutsch | Schachmatt |
| Italiano | scacco matto |
| Ελληνικά | ματ mat |
| Română | șah mat, mat |
| Русский | шах и мат šax i mat, мат mat |
| Tiếng Việt | chiếu hết, chiếu bí |
| العربية | شَاه مَات šāh māt |
| עברית | מט mat |
noun losing situation with no escape
| 中文 | 徹底失敗 /彻底失败 chèdǐ shībài |
|---|---|
| Português | xeque-mate |
| Deutsch | Schachmatt, Niederlage, aussichtslose Lage, hoffnungslose Situation |
verb to put an opponent into checkmate
| 日本語 | チェックメート chekkumēto |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 把...將死 /把...将死 bǎ...jiāngsǐ |
| Français | faire échec et mat |
| Italiano | dare scacco matto |
| Русский | ста́вить мат stávitʹ mat, поста́вить мат postávitʹ mat |
| Tiếng Việt | chiếu bí |
verb to lead to a situation of no escape
| 中文 | 挫敗 /挫败 cuòbài |
|---|
Talk about this word "checkmate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/checkmate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. checkmate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/checkmate "checkmate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/checkmate.Cite this
@misc{checkmate_2026,
title = {checkmate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/checkmate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
