Third-person singular simple present indicative form of checkmate

plural of checkmate

(chess) Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game. / (by extension) Said when one has placed a person in a losing situation with no escape.

(transitive, chess) To put the king of an opponent into checkmate. / (transitive, by extension) To place in a losing situation that has no escape.

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

simple past tense and past participle of checkmate

(chess) Having a king in check with no possible move to escape check, thus losing the game. / (figuratively) Suffering a personal loss with no obvious chance to escape the loss.

present participle of checkmate

plural of two-move checkmate

(chess) The quickest possible checkmate; the fool's mate.