checkmate

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtʃɛkmeɪt/

noun

[mass noun] Chess
  • a position in which a player’s king is directly attacked by an opponent’s piece or pawn and has no possible move to escape the check. The attacking player thus wins the game.
  • [as exclamation] said by a player to announce that the opponent’s king is in the position of checkmate.
  • a final defeat or deadlock: if the rebel forces succeed in cutting off the road, they will have achieved checkmate

verb

[with object] Chess
  • put into checkmate.
  • defeat or frustrate totally: the vice president checkmated that strategy

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic šāh māta, from Persian šāh māt 'the king is dead'