checkmate

Name: checkmate, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/

//ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt// intj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“checkmate” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,593. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,593
frequency rank, English: 5,599
“C” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.

Corpus desk

Index EN-checkmate · checkmate · English

checkmate · rank #29,593 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #29,593
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-DENSE 5,599
PHOTO-FINISH Chardonnay

Nearest frequency peer: Chardonnay (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

chairmanship

70,410
Chardonnay

70,409
checkmate

70,408
cheerfully

70,407
chou

70,406
Clarissa

70,405

What this shows “checkmate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Key facts for checkmate
Property	Value
Headword	checkmate
Language	English
Part of speech	Interjection
IPA	/ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#29,593
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “checkmate”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).checkmatelands here:

#29,593

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Chardonnay” (#29,592), “cheerfully” (#29,594), “chairmanship” (#29,591). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “checkmate” is #29,593. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around checkmate (IPA /ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/), aninterjection. Corpus frequency is #29,593 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for checkmate, with forms such as "ccheckmate", "cehckmate", and "chcekmate". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Classical Persian شاه مات (šāh māt, “the king [is] amazed”). The correct English form is checkmate, spelled C-H-E-C-K-M-A-T-E.

Definition

1
Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.
2
Said when one has placed a person in a losing situation with no escape.

Etymology

From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Classical Persian شاه مات (šāh māt, “the king [is] amazed”).

Synonyms

mate

This word in other languages

jaque mate(Español)échec et mat(Français)schachmatt(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ccheckmate
cehckmate
chcekmate
checckmate
checkamte
checkkmate
checkmaet
checkmatte
checkmmate
checkmtae
checmkate
chekcmate
chheckmate
hceckmate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of checkmate - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "checkmate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "checkmate"?

"checkmate" is spelled C-H-E-C-K-M-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/.

What does "checkmate" mean?

As an interjection, "checkmate" means: Word called out by the victor when making a move that wins the game.

What are common misspellings of "checkmate"?

Common misspellings include "ccheckmate", "cehckmate", "chcekmate", "checckmate", "checkamte". The correct spelling is "checkmate".

How do you pronounce "checkmate"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "checkmate" is /ˈt͡ʃɛkmeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "checkmate"?

From Middle English chekmat, from Old French eschec mat, from Arabic شَاه مَاتَ (šāh māta), from Classical Persian شاه مات (šāh māt, “the king [is] amazed”). See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "checkmate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

clinician#29,598 captaincy#29,582 convinces#29,613 cosmology#29,616

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

cheerfully14 variants Chardonnay14 variants breaching14 variants archangel14 variants