Entry Word: stalemate

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in <a new negotiator finally got both sides past the stalemate> — see impasse
2 a situation in which neither participant in a contest, competition, or struggle comes out ahead of the other <after playing chess for 16 hours, we ended the game in a stalemate> — see tie 1