checkmate: Meaning and Definition of

check•mate

Pronunciation: (chek'māt"), [key]
— n., v., interj. -mat•ed, -mat•ing,
—n.
  1. Also called
    1. an act or instance of maneuvering the opponent's king into a check from which it cannot escape, thus bringing the game to a victorious conclusion.
    2. the position of the pieces when a king is checkmated.
  2. a complete check; defeat: His efforts to escape met with a checkmate.
—v.t.
  1. to maneuver (an opponent's king) into a check from which it cannot escape; mate.
  2. to check completely; defeat: Napoleon was checkmated at Waterloo.
—interj.
  1. (used by a player to announce that he or she has put the opponent's king into inextricable check.)
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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