as in to frustrate
to prevent from achieving a goal
finally checkmated the billionaire in his attempt to take over the movie studio
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in deterrence
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of checkmate
Ayah Imran, Freep.com, 17 July 2025
Del Norte High’s chess team members have increasingly declared checkmate against their opponents, with the team capturing a third-place regional tournament award just four years after it was formed.
—Elizabeth Marie Himchak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 28 Dec. 2025
And then in the third round of chess – checkmate.
—Heather Abbott, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for checkmate
Verb
Losing a game of chess is never fun; however, setting aflame a custom wax king piece when checkmated is losing with style.
—Ayah Imran, Freep.com, 17 July 2025
Del Norte High’s chess team members have increasingly declared checkmate against their opponents, with the team capturing a third-place regional tournament award just four years after it was formed.
—Elizabeth Marie Himchak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Feb. 2025
Noun
Simmons, a sophomore from Duncanville just south of Dallas, has certainly racked up his share of checkmates over the past two seasons with 20 total sacks.
—Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 28 Dec. 2025
And then in the third round of chess – checkmate.
—Heather Abbott, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for checkmate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for checkmate
Verb
-
Part of what fascinates and frustrates as regards Ginsberg is that for all of those thick anthologies, propriety forces me to concede that many of the poems simply aren’t that good.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Some voters frustrated by gubernatorial race Tuesday was shaping up to be a busy day at the polls inside the brown brick Coloma Community Center.—
Camryn Dadey,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
Russia has used escalation rhetoric to intimidate Washington and Europe into self-deterrence since the war began.—
David A. Deptula,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
Ward said she was conflicted by the need to balance rehabilitation with retribution, deterrence, and prevention when faced with the untold nature of the killings.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Toward the end of the season, Deborah’s grand MSG show is thwarted by her nemesis Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn) who bought out all the tickets to the show, leaving her with an empty stadium.—
Alexandra Jhamb Burns,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
-
But the administration says the status quo allows rank-and-file federal employees to thwart the president's agenda.—
Andrea Hsu,
NPR,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The attack’s thwarting was an undeniable success.—
Shane Harris,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The thwarting of the Charlotte Hornets, one of the NBA’s fastest squads, is the quintessential White play.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
While some were baffled by the posts amid Bear’s claims, others pointed out the ability to schedule posts, depending on the type of account.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
-
In another excerpt from View from the East Wing, she is similarly baffled.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
By integrating detection, deception, and neutralization into a single ecosystem—and leveraging the power of autonomy—Ultra Maritime is redefining how naval forces defend themselves beneath the waves.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The cross-site scripting in this case appears to result from improper input neutralization during web page generation.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The food, beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, and agribusiness lobbies do not need to defeat MAHA in public debate.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
-
But environmentalists and other stakeholders said giving too many concessions to fossil fuel interests would defeat the program’s purpose, which is to drive down emissions along a pathway consistent with what scientists say could preserve a recognizable climate.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Those who knew me found this baffling.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
25 May 2026
-
That said, the good outweighs the baffling.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Checkmate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/checkmate. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
