stalemate
1 of 2noun
stale·mate ˈstāl-ˌmāt 
1
: a drawing position in chess in which a player is not in checkmate but has no legal move to play
2
: a drawn contest : deadlock
also : the state of being stalemated
stalemate
2 of 2verb
stalemated; stalemating; stalemates
transitive verb
: to bring into a stalemate
Synonyms
Noun
- deadlock
- gridlock
- halt
- impasse
- logjam
- Mexican standoff
- standoff
- standstill
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun The budget debate ended in a stalemate. The new agreement could break the stalemate. The budget debate ended in stalemate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Phil Mccausland, NBC News, 16 Sep. 2022 This stalemate could finally be broken by modern technology, as remote sensors and artificial intelligence turn the natural world into one big laboratory. Richard Lea, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2022 As this stalemate stretches into September, some Waters Elementary parents are concerned about the future of the program — which drew many of them to the Ravenswood Gardens school in the first place. Chicago Tribune Staff, Chicago Tribune, 13 Sep. 2022 The king’s visit comes at a politically fraught moment in Northern Ireland, amid a political stalemate that has seen the breakdown of a power-sharing agreement between unionist and nationalist parties on either side of the sectarian divide. Megan Specia, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2022 The stalemate pits two of Biden’s top priorities against each other. Tyler Pager, Lauren Kaori Gurley And Jeff Stein, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Sep. 2022 Following the election stalemate, local investors were hesitant to lend to the new government. Faustine Ngila, Quartz, 6 Sep. 2022 Eastern Michigan University's faculty union voted Tuesday night to strike as contract talks reached a stalemate, the union announced Tuesday night. David Jesse, Detroit Free Press, 6 Sep. 2022 The result nonetheless has been a monthslong stalemate in the Senate, delaying aid that White House officials have described as critical. Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2022 Meg Kinnard, ajc, 20 July 2022 Even so, the accord was embraced by Biden and enactment would signal a significant turnabout after years of gun massacres that have yielded little but stalemate in Congress. Alan Fram, ajc, 12 June 2022 Even so, the accord was embraced by Biden and enactment would signal a significant turnabout after years of gun massacres that have yielded little but stalemate in Congress. Alan Fram, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2022 That’s because they are either controlled politically by Republicans who oppose gun restrictions or are politically divided, leading to stalemate. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2022 The Emergency Board, composed of 13 Democrats and seven Republicans, had stalemated in April over plans to give those same hospitals millions in zero-interest loans. oregonlive, 6 June 2020 The diplomacy has been stalemated for months, with North Korea pressing the United States to make concessions by year’s end. Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2019 For months, the LNA and the militias have been locked in fierce clashes on Tripoli’s southern outskirts, with the fighting mostly stalemated. Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2019 After coming to office vowing to solve two very different nuclear crises, President Trump finds himself in a bind familiar to his predecessors: careening toward a confrontation with Iran and stalemated with North Korea. David E. Sanger, New York Times, 17 June 2019 See More
Noun
Putin can most quickly address the disquiet at home by halting Ukrainian advances and returning to the relative stalemate that proved an effective pressure point on Kyiv and its Western allies. Phil Mccausland, NBC News, 16 Sep. 2022 This stalemate could finally be broken by modern technology, as remote sensors and artificial intelligence turn the natural world into one big laboratory. Richard Lea, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2022 As this stalemate stretches into September, some Waters Elementary parents are concerned about the future of the program — which drew many of them to the Ravenswood Gardens school in the first place. Chicago Tribune Staff, Chicago Tribune, 13 Sep. 2022 The king’s visit comes at a politically fraught moment in Northern Ireland, amid a political stalemate that has seen the breakdown of a power-sharing agreement between unionist and nationalist parties on either side of the sectarian divide. Megan Specia, BostonGlobe.com, 13 Sep. 2022 The stalemate pits two of Biden’s top priorities against each other. Tyler Pager, Lauren Kaori Gurley And Jeff Stein, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Sep. 2022 Following the election stalemate, local investors were hesitant to lend to the new government. Faustine Ngila, Quartz, 6 Sep. 2022 Eastern Michigan University's faculty union voted Tuesday night to strike as contract talks reached a stalemate, the union announced Tuesday night. David Jesse, Detroit Free Press, 6 Sep. 2022 The result nonetheless has been a monthslong stalemate in the Senate, delaying aid that White House officials have described as critical. Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2022 Verb
The six commissioners — three Democrats and three Republicans — frequently stalemate along party lines, resulting in dismissals of cases. Meg Kinnard, ajc, 20 July 2022 Even so, the accord was embraced by Biden and enactment would signal a significant turnabout after years of gun massacres that have yielded little but stalemate in Congress. Alan Fram, ajc, 12 June 2022 Even so, the accord was embraced by Biden and enactment would signal a significant turnabout after years of gun massacres that have yielded little but stalemate in Congress. Alan Fram, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2022 That’s because they are either controlled politically by Republicans who oppose gun restrictions or are politically divided, leading to stalemate. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2022 The Emergency Board, composed of 13 Democrats and seven Republicans, had stalemated in April over plans to give those same hospitals millions in zero-interest loans. oregonlive, 6 June 2020 The diplomacy has been stalemated for months, with North Korea pressing the United States to make concessions by year’s end. Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2019 For months, the LNA and the militias have been locked in fierce clashes on Tripoli’s southern outskirts, with the fighting mostly stalemated. Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2019 After coming to office vowing to solve two very different nuclear crises, President Trump finds himself in a bind familiar to his predecessors: careening toward a confrontation with Iran and stalemated with North Korea. David E. Sanger, New York Times, 17 June 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
obsolete English stale stalemate (from Middle English, from Anglo-French estaler to stalemate, from estal station, position) + English mate entry 1 — more at installment entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1765, in the meaning defined above
stalemates
noun
1
as in halts
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in a new negotiator finally got both sides past the stalemate Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- halts
- impasses
- deadlocks
- standstills
- logjams
- gridlocks
- standoffs
- jams
- predicaments
- dilemmas
- bottlenecks
- problems
- quandaries
- quagmires
- pickles
- Mexican standoffs
- plights
- binds
- morasses
- holes
- fixes
- corners
- dead ends
- difficulties
- pinches
- spots
2
as in ties
a situation in which neither participant in a contest, competition, or struggle comes out ahead of the other after playing chess for 16 hours, we ended the game in a stalemate Synonyms & Similar Words
- ties
- draws
- deadlocks
- standoffs
- impasses
- dead heats
- seesaws
- toss-ups
- horse races
- photo finishes