The definition of a stalemate is a deadlock, an unresolved situation which no one can win.
(noun)An example of a stalemate is when you take one position and won't budge or compromise and your opponent takes another and won't budge, making it impossible to meet in the middle or progress forward.
See stalemate in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
Origin: obs. stale, stalemate < ME < OFr estal, fixed location, safe place < Gmc, as in OHG stal (see stall) + mate
transitive verb stalemated, stalemating
See stalemate in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
Origin:
Origin: Obsolete stale (from Middle English, probably from Anglo-Norman estale, fixed position, from Old French estal; see stale1)
Origin: + mate2
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