Word.ws English Dictionary

knightmare

knightmare noun: a figurative nightmare involving a knight, e.g. a crushing knight move or a hopeless situation involving a knight.

Noun

knightmare (plural knightmares)

  1. (humorous, informal) A figurative nightmare involving a knight, e.g. a crushing knight move or a hopeless situation involving a knight.
    • 16...Nbxd5? The wrong knight captures, which leads to a knightmare for Black.2020 March 11, Isaak Linder, Vladimir Linder, Mikhail Botvinnik: Sixth World Chess Champion, SCB Distributors, →ISBN, →OCLC
    • 17...cxd5? 18 ♘b5 is obviously a “knightmare” for Black.2020 November 17, Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions, Batsford, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 138

Forms of knightmare

pluralknightmares

Origin of knightmare

Blend of knight + nightmare.

Questions about knightmare

What does knightmare mean?
Knightmare means a figurative nightmare involving a knight, e.g. a crushing knight move or a hopeless situation involving a knight.
What part of speech is knightmare?
Knightmare is a noun.
What is the plural of knightmare?
The plural of knightmare is knightmares.

Words near knightmare in the dictionary

  1. knightliness
  2. knightlinesses
  3. knightling
  4. knightlings
  5. knightly
  6. knightmare
  7. knightmares
  8. Knighton
  9. Knighton on Teme
  10. knightress
  11. knightresses

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: knightmare (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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