as in frustrating
to prevent from achieving a goal
finally checkmated the billionaire in his attempt to take over the movie studio
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Recent Examples of checkmating
In the event’s final game, Nakamura caught headlines by theatrically throwing reigning Classical world champion Gukesh Dommaraju’s king into the crowd after checkmating him.
—
Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for checkmating
Verb
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Mack and the Chargers’ defense pressured quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of the Eagles and Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, frustrating them and keeping them out of their comfort zones.—
Elliott Teaford,
Oc Register,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Spurgeon left the 3-2 win over the Panthers early after thwarting a scoring attempt, sliding hard into the goalpost on the play.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
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From crashing a friend's luau to searching for the sweetest spot to take a nap, avoiding work quickly spirals into thwarting surreal disasters…in the most hilarious and entertaining of ways.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The council chambers have only one entrance, hampering security and accessibility needs, and the council desk itself is not ADA-compliant.—
Elliot Mann,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
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Some lawmakers think the staff reductions are hampering farmers’ ability to access programs.—
Patricia Kime,
USA Today,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This inversion explains a host of baffling political and cultural phenomena of late.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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The steel pipe's unexpected growth spurt was reported to police early Wednesday by a pedestrian who saw broken pieces of asphalt falling from the cylinder, baffling people passing by and causing traffic congestion.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Austin Hays also hit a three-run home run for the Sox, who collected their first win of the season by defeating the Miami Marlins 9-4 in front of 6,515 at loanDepot park.—
LaMond Pope,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
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New York looked terrific, allowing just a single run over three games, defeating the Giants 7-0, 3-0, and 3-1.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The president has repeatedly said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon was the war's top objective.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
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Awareness over new laws designed for protection and legislation that stops short of holding websites and social media platforms accountable have posed hurdles to preventing the harm.—
Miguel Torres,
AZCentral.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Brooke Bereuter was masterful in goal for Grapevine shutting out Argyle (18-4-3) until the shootout, including stopping a key penalty kick in the first half.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
1 Apr. 2026
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And on Monday, March 30, the court upheld the stay, effectively stopping any chance that the execution would happen as scheduled.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Checkmating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/checkmating. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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