Associations to the word «Checkmate»

Wiktionary

CHECKMATE, interjection. (chess) Word called out by the victor when making the conclusive move.
CHECKMATE, noun. The conclusive victory in a game of chess that occurs when an opponent's king is threatened with unavoidable capture.
CHECKMATE, noun. (figuratively) (by extension) Any losing situation with no escape; utter defeat.
CHECKMATE, verb. (transitive) (chess) To put the king of an opponent into checkmate.
CHECKMATE, verb. (transitive) (by extension) To place in a losing situation that has no escape.

Dictionary definition

CHECKMATE, noun. Complete victory.
CHECKMATE, noun. A chess move constituting an inescapable and indefensible attack on the opponent's king.
CHECKMATE, verb. 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".

Wise words

Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.
William Butler Yeats