Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A situation in which further action is blocked; a deadlock.
- n. A drawing position in chess in which the king, although not in check, can move only into check and no other piece can move.
- v. To bring into a stalemate.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In chess, a position in which a player, having to move in his turn, and his king not being in check, has no move available with any piece: in such a case the game is drawn; figuratively, any position in which no action can be taken.
- In chess, to subject to a stalemate: usually said of one's self, not of one's adversary: as, white is stalemated.
- To bring to a standstill; nonplus.
Wiktionary
- n. chess The state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves, resulting in a draw.
- n. Any situation that has no obvious possible movement, but does not involve any personal loss.
- v. chess, transitive To bring about a state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves.
- v. transitive, figuratively To bring about a stalemate, in which no advance in an argument is achieved.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Chess) The position of the king when he can not move without being placed in check and there is no other piece which can be moved.
- v. (Chess) To subject to a stalemate; hence, to bring to a stand.
WordNet 3.0
- v. subject to a stalemate
- n. drawing position in chess: any of a player's possible moves would place his king in check
- n. a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
Etymologies
- stale + mate "checkmate" (Wiktionary)
- Obsolete stale (from Middle English, probably from Anglo-Norman estale, fixed position, from Old French estal; see stale1) + mate2. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Mr. Obama's stark warnings, particularly his use of the word "stalemate" to describe his efforts, weighed the dollar, said Robert Rennie, chief currency strategist at Westpac Institutional Bank.”
The Wall Street Journal: Asian Shares Rise on Solid Earnings
“Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, citing one military official, said the document used the word "stalemate" to describe the conflict and did not adhere to U.S. military claims that the Taliban's momentum had been reversed.”
The Huffington Post: Analysis: Petraeus battles fears of CIA "militarization"
“Most Americans think a stalemate is the likeliest outcome, something that may make an exit strategy harder to implement if that prediction comes true, adds Holland.”
“In addition, Mr. Auque pointed to what he described as a stalemate over designing a next-generation European heavy-lift rocket.”
The Wall Street Journal: European Space Programs Come Back to Earth
“What we're seeing now is perhaps not inevitable, but predictable," he said of the Libyan situation, which he described as a stalemate between Qaddafi's forces and the rebels.”
“The right/wrong stalemate is what keeps people in your office for way too long.”
“The shift in language reflects growing Western concerns about a long-term stalemate which leaves Libya effectively divided, with Col.”
The Wall Street Journal: NATO Head Backs Calls for Gadhafi's Ouster
“Olney, incredulously, lists the scope of the cuts, but she replies, "We have a deal, the stalemate is done, the IOUs will be over!”
“To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion.”
“As insipid as Cronkite was, I'm still waiting for day that one of his contemporary successors makes a similar "we are mired in stalemate" statement about Iraq/Afghanistan/Pakistan on a major national "news" network.”
Walter Cronkite: ‘We Are Mired in Stalemate,’ 1968 « Antiwar.com Blog
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘stalemate’.
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AFET - diplomacy
broker a peace ac..., client state, deadlocked peace ..., embassy, freeze, goodwill ambassador, hinterland, interfere in dome..., intervene personally, maintain technica..., mediation, no business as usual and 670 more...
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HIST - 56 was 56 years ago
A modest contribution to the commemoration of the Hungarian Uprising against Soviet rule during the fall of 1956. As this is an English language lexicography site, I refrained from listing people's...
Stalinization, freedom fighter, de-Stalinization, socialist economy, army tank, Trotskyist, student union, Molotov cocktail, political prisoner, army unit, collective farm, set ablaze and 109 more...
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common UA vocab. in US
Interesting, there is a traditional vocabulary of an Ukrainian, that differs from vocabulary of average American. It would be nice to explore it.
jackdaw, incongruous, cassock, vivid, magpie, humdrum, amongst, wonder, wandering, wheedling, wheedle, osseous and 368 more...
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FUN - gestures
There are thousands of sign languages and possibly millions of gestures in human communication but not all of them have a name. Some are understood everywhere, some are understood everywhere but di...
okay sign, abhayamudra, apology, beckoning sign, Bellamy salute, benediction, blessing, blah-blah, "check, please” sign, clenched fist, Chinese number ge..., Clinton thumb and 360 more...
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SPOR - chess
escape square, chess, mate, capture, safe square, take, castling, board, piece, move, pawn, attack and 41 more...
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Last Words
Endings, results, and pinnacles. The ideal here is to somehow imply the paradoxical concept of "after-endings".
consequence, aftermath, finality, outcome, postmundane, endgame, redound, cloture, bourne, meridian, memento mori, psychopomp and 72 more...
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Toss up
toss up, even, tied, neck and neck, deadlock, parity, fifty-fifty, equilibrium, balance, equal, fungible, across-the-board and 16 more...
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nominative case collection
wine stopper, pyre, roster, hamper, moleskin, elastic, pinnacle, facsimile, nook, plonk, contortionist, dismay and 342 more...
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theastic's Words
cellar, stalemate, wrought, opal, tyrant, squelch, squab, linen, tartan, paisley, scope, siren and 395 more...
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dyy's Words
ambivalence, irony, double-edged sword, paradox, struggle, plunge, buoy, pigeon-hole, ultimately, status quo, fuel, undermine and 230 more...
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SAT PSAT ALPHABETICAL S
surrogate, supplanted, supercilious, supersede, substantiate, synopsis, symmetry, sumptuous, swelter, swagger, surmise, summation and 156 more...
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5-0
Hecko, words! I’m so happy I’ve found you. I want to keep you all and never want to lose you again. I hope you like it here.
amscray, thistledown, tine, tinsel, pungent, snarl, wail, lanky, viscid, dawdle, luminous, stow and 2719 more...
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Sat Vocabulary List
abandon, abash, abate, abjure, ablution, abnegate, abominable, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abridge, abrogate and 2155 more...
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Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers
Titles of Surrealist artworks.
mystificator, swans reflecting ..., to rise from medi..., stalemate, l'empire des lumi..., singing fish, rose meditative, the burning giraffe, soft watch at the..., aquis submersus, dream caused by t..., the persistence o... and 148 more...
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ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
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Zimbabwoe
A list of words and terminology culled from the media in relation to the political situation in Zimbabwe. List commenced April 2008.
election, poverty, hyperinflation, tsvangirai, mdc, mugabe, zanu pf, activist, stalemate, behind-the-scenes, arrest, election result and 86 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for stalemate.
seanahan In chess, when one player is unable to move any pieces, the game is drawn. Historically, the result of this has been different. At various times it has been a win for the stalemater, a win for the stalemated, an illegal move, a half-win for the stalemater, and a lost turn for the stalemated. Feb 20, 2007