From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Checkmate \Check"mate\ (-m[=a]t), verb (used with an object) [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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Checkmate \Check"mate\ (ch[e^]k"m[=a]t), noun [F. ['e]chec et mat, fr. Per. sh[=a]h m[=a]t checkmate, lit., the king is dead, fr. Ar. m[=a]ta 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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
2: a chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king [syn: {mate}]
verb
1: 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" [syn: {mate}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
96 Moby Thesaurus words for "checkmate": arrest, baffle, bafflement, balk, balking, bell, blast, block, brake, brave, bring to, bring up short, challenge, check, circumvent, confound, confounding, confront, confusion, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross, cut short, cutoff, dam, dash, dead stop, deadlock, defeat, defy, destroy, discomfit, discomfiture, disconcert, disconcertion, discountenance, dish, disrupt, draw rein, elude, end, endgame, ending, final whistle, flummox, foil, foiling, freeze, frustrate, frustration, full stop, grinding halt, gun, halt, knock the chocks, lockout, nonplus, perplex, pull up, put paid to, rebuff, repulse, reversal, reverse, rout, ruin, sabotage, scotch, setback, sit-down strike, spike, spoil, stalemate, stall, stand, standoff, standstill, stay, stem, stem the tide, stonewall, stop, stop cold, stop dead, stop short, stoppage, strike, stump, thwart, thwarting, upset, walkout, work stoppage
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0