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Etymology edit

stale +‎ mate

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

stalemate (countable and uncountable, plural stalemates)

  1. (chess) The state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves, resulting in a draw.
  2. (by extension) Any situation that has no obvious possible movement, but involves no personal loss.
    • 2020 September 8, Jeffrey Gettleman, “Shots Fired Along India-China Border for First Time in Years”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
      Indian military analysts said the situation was heading into a dangerous stalemate. Neither side wants to start a war. But neither side wants to back down either.
  3. Any kind of match in which neither contestant laid claim to victory; a draw.

Translations edit

Verb edit

stalemate (third-person singular simple present stalemates, present participle stalemating, simple past and past participle stalemated)

  1. (chess, transitive) To bring about a state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To bring about a stalemate, in which no advance in an argument is achieved.
    • 2012 February 29, Aidan Foster-Carter, “North Korea: The denuclearisation dance resumes”, in BBC News[2]:
      The North Korean nuclear issue, stalemated for the past three years, is now back in play again—not before time.
    • 2024 March 18, Dan Sabbagh, “Volkov attack signals Russia’s return to cold war-era spying in Europe”, in The Guardian[3], →ISSN:
      But with the war also still largely stalemated, other theatres of conflict have become more important. In Russia’s case, that includes the secret domain.

See also edit

Anagrams edit