How to pronounce stalemate
American English pronunciation
STAYL-mayt
- IPA
- /ˈsteɪlˌmeɪt/
- Syllables
- STAYL · mayt (2 syllables, stress on the 1st)
Love words? Try a free round: no sign-up, about two minutes. Play free
What stalemate means
A point where neither side can win or move ahead
In a sentence: The tug-of-war ended in a stalemate because no team could pull the other over the line.
Where it comes from: It started as a chess word, made from stale, an older chess word for the same thing, and mate, as in checkmate.
Can you spot the real meaning? Try one
Loading a word…
Can you spot the real meaning? Play Wordfib
One free round, no sign-up. Wordfib shows a word and four meanings: one real, three fibs.