stalemate
English · Thesaurus
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stalemate
- /ˈsteɪlmeɪt/
Where it comes from
From stale + mate.
noun stalemates
- The state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves, resulting in a draw. The game is drawn when the player to move has no legal move and his/her king is not in check. The game is said to end in ‘stalemate’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the stalemate position was in accordance with Article 3 and Articles 4.2 – 4.7.
- Any situation that has no obvious possible movement, but involves no personal loss. "Short of shooting us all in cold blood how's that going to help you, Mr. Carrados?" asked Larch, coming down to the commonplace of the situation. "It looks like stalemate to me and the sensible thing would be to make it a draw and all call off in good order. […]"
- Any kind of match in which neither contestant laid claim to victory; a draw.
verb stalemates · stalemating · stalemated
- To bring about a state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves.
- To bring about a stalemate, in which no advance in an argument is achieved. The North Korean nuclear issue, stalemated for the past three years, is now back in play again—not before time.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: deadlock, standstill, impasse, stand-off, treadmill, gridlock, trampling, confrontation, pat, blockade, locking, lockup, lock, lock-up, alley, bind
Translations
Every language
noun chess term
| Español | ahogado, rey ahogado, tablas |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 스테일메이트 seuteilmeiteu |
| 日本語 | ステイルメイト suteirumeito |
| 中文 | 欠行 qiànxíng, 困斃 /困毙 kùnbì, 無子可動 /无子可动, 無子可動 /无子可动 wúzĭ kědòng |
| हिन्दी | ज़िच zic |
| Português | afogamento |
| Français | pat |
| Deutsch | Patt, Pattstellung |
| Italiano | stallo |
| Ελληνικά | πατ pat, αδιέξοδο adiéxodo |
| Română | pat |
| Русский | пат pat |
| Tiếng Việt | hết nước đi |
| العربية | رَدْب radb |
noun blocked situation without personal loss
| Español | punto muerto, estancamiento |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 교착상태 gyochaksangtae |
| 日本語 | 行き詰り yukizumari |
| 中文 | 僵局 jiāngjú, 對峙 /对峙 duìzhì |
| Português | beco sem saída, impasse |
| Français | impasse |
| Deutsch | Stillstand, Stocken, verfahrene Lage, festgefahrene Lage, Pattsituation, Sackgasse |
| Italiano | punto morto, vicolo cieco, impasse, stallo |
| Ελληνικά | αδιέξοδο adiéxodo |
| Русский | тупи́к tupík, пат pat, безвы́ходное положе́ние bezvýxodnoje položénije |
| العربية | طَرِيق مَسْدُود ṭarīq masdūd, مَأْزِق maʔziq |
Talk about this word "stalemate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/stalemate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. stalemate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/stalemate "stalemate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/stalemate.Cite this
@misc{stalemate_2026,
title = {stalemate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/stalemate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
