chess

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈches 

: a game for 2 players each of whom moves 16 pieces according to fixed rules across a checkerboard and tries to checkmate the opponent's king

Illustration of chess

• chessboard with chess pieces arranged as at the beginning of a game

chess

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: a weedy annual European bromegrass (Bromus secalinus) widely naturalized in North America as a weed especially in grain

2

: any of several weedy bromegrasses related to chess

Examples of chess in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Unlike chess, which builds knowledge that mostly stays put on the board, reading keeps feeding the store of language and knowledge a person draws on for decades. — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Florian Ospina, in the school library, made sure no chess pieces were missing. — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026

The boy was remembered for his love of learning, swimming and skiing, and his enthusiasm for chess and soccer camp. — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026

Alpha-Zero, as the system was called, surpassed human experts at chess, the Japanese chess variant Shogi, and the ancient strategy board game called Go. — Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English chesse, ches, esches, borrowed from Anglo-French escheks, eschez "game of chess" — more at check entry 2

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1736, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing chess

• chess pie

Rhymes for chess

• bless
• cress
• dress
• es
• ess
• esse
• fess
• guess
• jess
• less
• lesse
• mess

Kids Definition

chess

noun

ˈches

: a game for two players each of whom plays with 16 pieces on a checkerboard

Etymology

Noun

Middle English ches "game of chess," from early French eschés (same meaning), literally, "checks," from eschec "check" — related to check, checker