Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Checkmate

Check′mate, n. [F. échec et mat, fr. Per. shāh māt ceckmate, lit., the king is dead, fr. Ar. māta he died, is dead. The king, when made prisoner, or checkmated, is assumed to be dead, and the game is finished. See Chess.] 1. The position in the game of chess when a king is in check and cannot be released, — which ends the game.

2. A complete check; utter defeat or overthrow.

Check′mate (·māt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Checkmated; p. pr. & vb. n. Checkmating.] 1. (Chess) To check (an adversary's king) in such a manner that escape in impossible; to defeat (an adversary) by putting his king in check from which there is no escape.

2. To defeat completely; to terminate; to thwart.

To checkmate and control my just demands. Ford.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article.