chess

C3H4E1S1S1
/t͡ʃɛs/

noun

A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

Similar
international chessWestern chesscheatBromus secalinuschess game
CommonScrabble 10

Meanings

chess1

nounchess (usually uncountable, plural chesses)

plural chesses

  1. uncountableusuallyA board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

    FIDE appeals to all chess players and federations to accept this view.

    2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2025, page 2
    1 more example

    At the tender age of 20, Penguingm1 is already one of the best hyperbullet and ultrabullet chess players in the world.

    2020 October 1, Aaron Alford, “Cloud9 signs grandmaster chess player Penguingm1”, in Dot Esports, archived from the original on 19 Jun 2021

    Synonyms: international chess, Western chess

chess2

nounchess (plural chesses)

plural chesses

  1. USAny of several species of grass in the genus Bromus, generally considered weeds.

    Hobbled, loudly gourmandizing the dry chess grass, they were guarded by a pair of dismounted soldiers in long, dusty coats [...].

    2007, Michael Chabon, Gentlemen of the Road, Sceptre, published 2008, page 59

chess3

nounchess (plural chesses)

plural chesses

  1. in pluralgovernmentOne of the platforms, consisting of two or more planks dowelled together, for the flooring of a temporary military bridge.

    ach chess consists of three planks.

    1885, Edward S. Farrow, Farrow's Military Encyclopedia; A Dictionary of Military Knowledge
    1 more example

    the balks are laid and covered with chesses to within 1 foot of the trestle

    1881, Thomas Wilhelm, A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

Chess4

proper noun

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

More synonyms by meaning

nounweedy annual native to Europe but widely distributed as a weed especially in wheat

Similar
cheatBromus secalinus

nouna board game for two players who move their 16 pieces according to specific rules; the object is to checkmate the opponent's king

Similar
chess game
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

chess · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*tek-
  2. Proto-Indo-Iranian*kšáyati
  3. Proto-Iranian*xšáyati
  4. Old Persian𐏋 (XŠ)
  5. Middle Persian𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/)
  6. Classical Persianشاه (šāh)
  7. Arabicشَاه (šāh)
  8. Old Frencheschés
  9. Middle Englishches
  10. Englishchess

From Middle English ches, chesse, from Old French eschés, plural of eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king [in chess]”), from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, “shah, king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /⁠xšāyaθiya⁠/). Compare German Schach and Italian scacchi. Compare French échecs (“chess”) and its descendants: Catalan escacs and Dutch schaak. More at check and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”).

Full word history & related roots →

chess · noun

Uncertain; perhaps linked to Etymology 1, above, from the sense of being arranged in rows or lines.

Full word history & related roots →

chess · noun

Compare French châssis (“a framework of carpentry”).

Full word history & related roots →

Chess · proper noun

The river name is a back-formation from Chesham, a town at the head of the river.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans skaak
  • skaaktwo-player board game
Ancient Greek ζατρίκιον
  • ζατρίκιον (zatríkion)two-player board game
Arabic شَطْرَنْج, شِطْرَنْج
  • شَطْرَنْج (šaṭranj)two-player board game
  • شِطْرَنْج (šiṭranj)two-player board game
Basque xake
  • xaketwo-player board game
Bengali দাবা
  • দাবা (daba)two-player board game
Bulgarian шах, шахма́т
  • шах (šah)two-player board game
  • шахма́т (šahmát)two-player board game
Catalan escacs
  • escacstwo-player board game
Chinese Cantonese 國際象棋 /国际象棋
  • 國際象棋 /国际象棋two-player board game
Chinese Mandarin 象棋, 國際象棋 /国际象棋
  • 象棋 (xiàngqí)two-player board game
  • 國際象棋 /国际象棋 (guójì xiàngqí)two-player board game
  • 西洋棋 (xīyángqí)two-player board game
Czech šachy
  • šachytwo-player board game
Danish skak
  • skaktwo-player board game
Dutch schaak, schaakspel
  • schaaktwo-player board game
  • schaakspeltwo-player board game
  • schakentwo-player board game
Esperanto ŝako
  • ŝakotwo-player board game
Estonian male
  • maletwo-player board game
Finnish shakki, šakki
  • shakkitwo-player board game
  • šakkitwo-player board game
French échecs
  • échecstwo-player board game
German Schach, Schachspiel
  • Schachtwo-player board game
  • Schachspieltwo-player board game
Greek σκάκι, ζατρίκιο
  • σκάκι (skáki)two-player board game
  • ζατρίκιο (zatríkio)two-player board game
Hebrew שַׁחְמָט, אִשְׁקוּקָה
  • שַׁחְמָט (shakhmát)two-player board game
  • אִשְׁקוּקָה (ishquqá)two-player board game
Hindi शतरंज, चेस
  • शतरंज (śatrañj)two-player board game
  • चेस (ces)two-player board game
  • शतरञ्ज (śatrañj)two-player board game
  • बुद्धिद्यूत (buddhidyūt)two-player board game
  • सतरंज (satrañj)two-player board game
  • सतरञ्ज (satrañj)two-player board game
  • सँतरँज (sãtrañj)two-player board game
  • चेस (ces)two-player board game
  • चतुरंग (caturaṅg)two-player board game
  • चतुरङ्ग (caturaṅg)two-player board game
  • चतरङ्ग (catraṅg)two-player board game
Hungarian sakk
  • sakktwo-player board game
Icelandic skák, skáktafl
  • skáktwo-player board game
  • skáktafltwo-player board game
  • tafltwo-player board game
Indonesian catur
  • caturtwo-player board game
Irish ficheall
  • fichealltwo-player board game
Italian scacchi
  • scacchitwo-player board game
Japanese チェス, 西洋将棋
  • チェス (chesu)two-player board game
  • 西洋将棋 (seiyōshōgi)two-player board game
Korean 체스, 서양장기
  • 체스 (cheseu)two-player board game
  • 서양장기 (seoyangjanggi)two-player board game
Latin scaccī
  • scaccītwo-player board game
Latvian šahs
  • šahstwo-player board game
Lithuanian šachmatai
  • šachmataitwo-player board game
Malay catur, sekak
  • caturtwo-player board game
  • sekaktwo-player board game
Māori whaikīngi
  • whaikīngitwo-player board game
Norwegian Bokmål sjakk
  • sjakktwo-player board game
Polish szachy
  • szachytwo-player board game
Portuguese xadrez
  • xadreztwo-player board game
Punjabi ਸ਼ਤਰੰਜ
  • ਸ਼ਤਰੰਜ (śatrañj)two-player board game
Romanian șah
  • șahtwo-player board game
Russian ша́хматы
  • ша́хматы (šáxmaty)two-player board game
Scottish Gaelic tàileasg, fidhcheall
  • tàileasgtwo-player board game
  • fidhchealltwo-player board game
Slovak šach, šachy
  • šachtwo-player board game
  • šachytwo-player board game
Spanish ajedrez, escaques
  • ajedreztwo-player board game
  • escaquestwo-player board game
Swahili chesi, sataranji
  • chesitwo-player board game
  • sataranjitwo-player board game
Swedish schack
  • schacktwo-player board game
Tagalog satol, ahedres
  • satoltwo-player board game
  • ahedrestwo-player board game
  • tsestwo-player board game
Tamil சதுரங்கம், செஸ்
  • சதுரங்கம் (caturaṅkam)two-player board game
  • செஸ் (ces)two-player board game
Thai หมากรุก
  • หมากรุก (màak-rúk)two-player board game
Turkish satranç
  • satrançtwo-player board game
Ukrainian ша́хи
  • ша́хи (šáxy)two-player board game
Urdu شَطْرَن٘ج, چیس
  • شَطْرَن٘ج (śatrañj)two-player board game
  • چیس (ces)two-player board game
Vietnamese cờ vua
  • cờ vuatwo-player board game
Welsh gwyddbwyll, sies
  • gwyddbwylltwo-player board game
  • siestwo-player board game
Yiddish שאָך, שאַכמאַט
  • שאָך (shokh)two-player board game
  • שאַכמאַט (shakhmat)two-player board game
Zulu ishesi
  • ishesitwo-player board game

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with chess

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

chess. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chess

MLA

“chess.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chess. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chess,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chess.

Source: chess on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.