checkmate

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. 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), United States public domain. See methodology for full licensing detail. Word validity for game play may differ from any official game dictionary.