checkmate

English

Etymology

From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاهُ مَاتَ (šāhu māta), from Persian شاه مات (šâh mât, “the king [is] amazed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪt

Interjection

checkmate

1. (chess) Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.

Synonyms

• (chess): mate

Translations

said when making the conclusive move in chess

• Albanian: shah mat
• Arabic: مَات m (māt), كِش مَلِك m (kiš malik)

  Egyptian Arabic: كش ملك (kešš malek)

• Armenian: շախ և մատ (šax ew mat), մատ (hy) (mat)
• Bengali: কিস্তিমাত (kistimat)
• Bulgarian: мат (mat)
• Catalan: escac i mat
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 將死／将死 (zh) (jiāngsǐ), 将死 (zh) (jiāngsǐ)

• Czech: mat (cs), šach mat m
• Danish: skakmat c
• Dutch: schaakmat (nl) n, mat (nl) n
• Estonian: šahh ja matt
• Faroese: skák og mát
• Finnish: shakki ja matti
• French: échec et mat (fr)
• Galician: xaque mate (gl)
• Georgian: შამათი (šamati)
• German: schachmatt (de), schach und matt
• Greek: ματ (el) (mat)
• Hebrew: מט (he) (mat)
• Hindi: मात (hi) (māt)
• Hungarian: sakk-matt (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: scacco matto (it)
• Japanese: チェックメイト (chekkumeito), 詰み (ja) (つみ, tsumi)
• Kalmyk: мад (mad)
• Khmer: ស្លាប់ក្រឡា (slap krɑlaa)
• Macedonian: шах-мат (šah-mat), мат (mat)
• Malay: syahmat
• Maori: whakamiere
• Norwegian: sjakkmatt
• Persian: کیش و مات (kiš o mât), شاه مات (fa) (šâh mât), شهمات (fa) (šahmât), مات (fa) (mât)
• Polish: mat (pl) m, szach mat, szach i mat
• Portuguese: xeque-mate (pt) m
• Romanian: șah mat
• Russian: мат (ru) m (mat), шах и мат (šax i mat)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шах-мат, мат

  Roman: šah-mat (sh), mat (sh)

• Slovene: šah mat, mat
• Spanish: jaque mate
• Swedish: schackmatt (sv)
• Tagalog: mate (tl)
• Thai: รุกฆาต (rúk-kâat), รุกฆาตแล้ว (rúk-kâat-lɛ́ɛo)
• Turkish: şah mat (tr)
• Ukrainian: мат m (mat), шах і мат (šax i mat)
• Yiddish: מאַט (mat)

Noun

checkmate (plural checkmates)

1. The conclusive victory in a game of chess that occurs when an opponent's king is threatened with unavoidable capture.
2. (figuratively, by extension) Any losing situation with no escape; utter defeat.

Related terms

• stalemate

Translations

conclusive victory in a game of chess

• Arabic: شَاه مَات (šāh māt)
• Armenian: շախմատ (hy) (šaxmat)
• Bulgarian: мат m (mat)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 將死／将死 (zh) (jiāngsǐ), 将死 (zh) (jiāngsǐ)

• Czech: mat (cs) m
• Danish: skakmat, mat (da)
• Dutch: schaakmat (nl), mat (nl)
• Esperanto: ŝakmato
• Estonian: matt
• Faroese: mát n
• Finnish: matti (fi)
• French: échec et mat (fr) m
• Galician: xaque mate (gl) m
• Georgian: შამათი (šamati)
• German: Schachmatt (de) n
• Greek: ματ (el) n (mat)
• Hebrew: מט (he) (mat)
• Hungarian: sakk-matt (hu), matt (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: scacco matto (it) m
• Japanese: 詰み (ja) (つみ, tsumi), チェックメイト (chekkumeito)
• Korean: 체크 메이트 (chekeu meiteu)
• Maori: whakamiere
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sjakkmatt

  Nynorsk: sjakkmatt

• Persian: کیش و مات (kiš o mât), شهمات (fa) (šahmât), مات (fa) (mât)
• Polish: mat (pl) m
• Portuguese: xeque-mate (pt) m
• Romanian: șah-mat n
• Russian: шах и мат m (šax i mat), мат (ru) m (mat)
• Scottish Gaelic: clos m
• Slovak: mat m
• Slovene: šah mat m, mat m
• Spanish: jaque mate m, mate (es) m
• Swedish: matt (sv) c, schack matt (sv) c
• Thai: รุกฆาต (rúk-kâat)
• Ukrainian: мат m (mat)

losing situation with no escape

• Bulgarian: мат m (mat)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 徹底失敗／彻底失败 (chèdǐ shībài), 彻底失败 (chèdǐ shībài)

• Czech: matová situace f
• Estonian: lüüasaamine
• Finnish: nurkka (fi), umpikuja (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Schachmatt (de) n, Niederlage (de) f
• Hungarian: patthelyzet (hu), zsákutca (hu), vesztes/reménytelen/kilátástalan helyzet
• Persian: کیش و مات (kiš o mât)
• Portuguese: xeque-mate (pt) m
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Slovak: matová situácia f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) Korean: ^{(please verify)} 외통 장군 (oetong janggun)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} latrunculusque matum

Verb

1. (transitive, chess) To put the king of an opponent into checkmate.

   That jerk checkmated me in four moves!

2. (transitive, by extension) To place in a losing situation that has no escape.

Translations

to put an opponent into checkmate

• Bulgarian: мати́рам (bg) (matíram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 把...將死／把...将死, 把...将死 (bǎ...jiāngsǐ)

• Czech: matovat, dát mat
• Esperanto: ŝakmatigi
• Faroese: máta
• Finnish: matittaa, tehdä matti
• French: faire échec et mat
• Georgian: დაშამათება (dašamateba) (verbal noun), აშამათებს (ašamatebs) (infinitive)
• Hungarian: mattot ad, megmattol (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: dare scacco matto
• Maori: whakamiere
• Persian: شهمات کردن (šahmāt kardan), مات کردن (fa) (māt kardan)
• Polish: zamatować pf, dać mata pf
• Portuguese: dar (o) xeque-mate
• Russian: ста́вить мат impf (stávitʹ mat), поста́вить мат pf (postávitʹ mat)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuir clos air
• Slovak: dať šach mat
• Slovene: matirati
• Swedish: schackmatta (sv), sätta matt, göra matt, sätta schackmatt, göra schackmatt
• Thai: รุกฆาต (rúk-kâat)
• Vietnamese: chiếu bí

to lead to a situation of no escape

• Bulgarian: матирам (bg) (matiram)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 挫敗／挫败 (zh) (cuòbài), 挫败 (zh) (cuòbài)

• Finnish: saattaa umpikujaan, panna ahtaalle
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: sarokba szorít (hu)
• Portuguese: dar (o) xeque-mate
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} șah mat
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} dar jaque mate, ^{(please verify)} dar mate