stalemate

plural stalemates

1. countableuncountableboard gamesThe state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves, resulting in a draw.

   The game is drawn when the player to move has no legal move and his/her king is not in check. The game is said to end in ‘stalemate’. This immediately ends the game, provided that the move producing the stalemate position was in accordance with Article 3 and Articles 4.2 – 4.7.

   2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2025, page 10

2. broadlycountablefigurativelyuncountableAny situation that has no obvious possible movement, but involves no personal loss.

   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.

   2020 September 8, Jeffrey Gettleman, “Shots Fired Along India-China Border for First Time in Years”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2020

   1 more example

   "Short of shooting us all in cold blood how's that going to help you, Mr. Carrados?" asked Larch, coming down to the commonplace of the situation. "It looks like stalemate to me and the sensible thing would be to make it a draw and all call off in good order. […]"

   1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

3. countableuncountableAny kind of match in which neither contestant laid claim to victory; a draw.

present singular third person stalemates · participle present stalemating · participle past stalemated · past stalemated

1. transitiveboard gamesTo bring about a state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves.
2. figurativelytransitiveTo bring about a stalemate, in which no advance in an argument is achieved.

   The North Korean nuclear issue, stalemated for the past three years, is now back in play again—not before time.

   2012 February 29, Aidan Foster-Carter, “North Korea: The denuclearisation dance resumes”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 24 Apr 2025

   1 more example

   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.

   2024 March 18, Dan Sabbagh, “Volkov attack signals Russia’s return to cold war-era spying in Europe”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2025