chess

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈches 

: a game for 2 players each of whom moves 16 pieces according to fixed rules across a checkerboard and tries to checkmate the opponent's king

Illustration of chess

• chessboard with chess pieces arranged as at the beginning of a game

chess

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: a weedy annual European bromegrass (Bromus secalinus) widely naturalized in North America as a weed especially in grain

2

: any of several weedy bromegrasses related to chess

Examples of chess in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On recent trips to New York, he was photographed jumping the subway turnstile and playing chess in Washington Square Park. —Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026

Imagine the two best chess computers playing each other. —Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 9 June 2026

Emory was still travelling between chess tournaments, and his posts were interspersed with blurry photos of hotels and dark city streets. —Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

Directed by Liza Mandelup, the docuseries explores the current world of competitive chess and its dedicated fanbase. —Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English chesse, ches, esches, borrowed from Anglo-French escheks, eschez "game of chess" — more at check entry 2

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1736, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing chess

• chess pie

Rhymes for chess

• bless
• cress
• dress
• es
• ess
• esse
• fess
• guess
• jess
• less
• lesse
• mess

Kids Definition

chess

noun

ˈches

: a game for two players each of whom plays with 16 pieces on a checkerboard

Etymology

Noun

Middle English ches "game of chess," from early French eschés (same meaning), literally, "checks," from eschec "check" — related to check, checker