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

Both Flores and new Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley are defensive masterminds, so hopefully this will be a quite the chess match. — Miami Herald, 16 July 2026

Here, the household ate together, sitting on their beds, and whiled away the dark winter days by spinning, weaving, telling stories, reciting poems, and playing chess. — Amelia Soth, JSTOR Daily, 15 July 2026

When not working, Carson enjoys playing chess, traveling, and cheering on the men's and women's basketball teams at his alma mater, the University of Connecticut. — The Washington Examiner, 12 July 2026

Any time a machine takes up a skill that was once thought of as uniquely human, like chess or coding, there’s a tendency to dismiss that skill as simple and mechanical. — Meghan O’Gieblyn, The New York Review of Books, 11 July 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