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Added 9 October 2026

checkmate

/ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about checkmate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Complete victory.
A chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king.

verb

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

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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