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bishop

bishop

14 3.2
A chess piece that moves diagonally across any number of empty squares
  • noun
  • /ˈbɪʃəp/
: alfil
  • The bishop moved diagonally across the board, capturing the opponent's knight.

So for example, it may be that, you know, you play Bishop, takes queen.

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Examples

  • The last move, I took your rook with my bishop.

  • With the excellent range of your bishops, he's finished.

  • So for example, it may be that, you know, you play Bishop, takes queen.

  • Bishop takes Bishop, Queen takes queen.

  • So I move, you know, my, my Bishop, the computer moves its queen.

  • We both have two bishops.

  • There are two bishops in chess.

  • Then he moved the bishop to queen four, and then she said checkmate.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Several pawns, a knight, and a bishop have been taken.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Now, let's see... a pawn moves this way... and a bishop moves this way... and the queen moves every which way, doesn't it?

Synonyms

chess piece
vsbishop
5 2.0

A small object like a pawn or queen used in the game of chess

is a single figure that moves diagonally across empty squares rather than any figure

Idioms

to beat the bishop
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To touch your own private parts to make yourself sexually excited

A humorous phrase that points out a sexual double meaning in what was said

Compounds

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church

suffragan bishop
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A bishop who helps the main bishop of a diocese with church work

bishop pine
  • Specialized
1 9.2

A pine tree from the northern California coast with two or three needles in each group

How Important

king
31 2.7
queen
24 3.7
rook
14 5.7
bishop
14 3.2
knight
11 4.2
pawn
22 3.4

Surface Forms

bishop singular
bishops plural

Etymology

The word bishop for the chess piece comes from Europe, where players imagined the piece as a church leader rather than an elephant, so it took the church name; that's why the chess bishop still 'watches' long diagonal lines across the board like a leader watching a wide area.