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| stale·mate [ stáyl màyt ] |
noun (plural stale·mates) |
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| Definition: |
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1. situation with no potential winners: in a contest, a situation in which neither side can take any further worthwhile action
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2. chess chess situation with no winner: in chess, a situation in which no winner is possible because neither player can move a piece without placing the king in check
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transitive verb (past and past participle stale·mat·ed, present participle stale·mat·ing, 3rd person present singular stale·mates) |
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| Definition: |
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put somebody or something into stalemate: to put somebody or something into a situation in which no further worthwhile action is possible
(
often passive
)
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| [Mid-18th century. < obsolete stale (< Anglo-Norman estale "fixed position" < Germanic) + mate2] |
