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Definition of stalemate noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

stalemate

noun
 
/ˈsteɪlmeɪt/
 
/ˈsteɪlmeɪt/
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  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.
    Extra Examples
    • Efforts to break the stalemate in the peace talks continue.
    • The stalemate in the trade talks continues.
    • The talks reached (a) stalemate.
    • a stalemate between management and unions
    • a stalemate over economic issues
    Topics Opinion and argumentc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • political
    • current
    verb + stalemate
    • end in
    • reach
    • result in
    stalemate + verb
    • continue
    preposition
    • stalemate between
    • stalemate in
    • stalemate on
    See full entry
  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 checkmateTopics Games and toysc2
  3. Word Originmid 18th cent.: from obsolete stale (from Anglo-Norman French estale ‘position’, from estaler ‘be placed’) + mate (in the chess sense).
See stalemate in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
halfway
adverb
 
 
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