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Dictionary Language resources

mate2

Pronunciation: /meɪt/

Translate mate | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

Definition of mate

noun & verb

Chess

short for checkmate.

Phrases

fool's mate: a game in which White is mated by Black’s queen on the second move.
scholar's mate: a game in which White mates Black on the fourth move with the queen, supported by the king’s bishop.

Origin:

Middle English: the noun from Anglo-Norman French mat (from the phrase eschec mat 'checkmate'); the verb from Anglo-Norman French mater 'to checkmate'