- 1[uncountable, countable, usually singular] a disagreement or a situation in a competition in which neither side is able to win or make any progress synonym impasse The talks ended in (a) stalemate. proposals aimed at breaking (= ending) the political stalemate The strike has once again reached stalemate.
- 2[uncountable, singular] (in chess) a situation in which a player cannot successfully move any of their pieces and the game ends without a winner The match ended in (a) stalemate compare checkmate
Check pronunciation: stalemate