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checkerboard

checkerboard

2 3.7
A pattern of light and dark squares used to show a clear background behind an image
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃɛkərˌbɔrd/
  • Specialized
: patrón de cuadros
  • The graphic designer used a checkerboard pattern to showcase the transparent areas in the layout.
  • checkerboard pattern
  • checkerboard facade
  • black checkerboard

Examples

  • The image on which the router works consists of a checkerboard pattern of tiles on each of the physical layers.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Company streets were laid out in the standard checkerboard pattern.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "Who used to wear these?" he asked, standing on the green and white checkerboard tile floor.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • It's well known that the black and white checkerboard pattern has been Rick's signature style for nearly thirty years.

    Blog text (2)
  • When a transparent border is created, the transparent area is filled with a checkerboard pattern, and that sometimes makes it difficult to see the subject border.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The tablecloth was a red-and-black cotton checkerboard.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Nothing had prepared her for the smooth grass oval and the bright checkerboards, stripes, and harlequin diamonds of the racing silks.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Characteristically, the facade of the sanctuary also bore above its door a checkerboard of eight rows, whose squares were alternately painted white.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Directly across from us sat a two-story red-brick fortress with black shutters, the yard neat as a checkerboard.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • An oval appliqué garlands the outside of some jars; checkerboard patterns and half-moon shapes, carved with fingernails, are found on others.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

chessboard
vscheckerboard
12 1.3

A square board with 64 light and dark squares used to play chess

is used to mark transparent or empty areas in digital images not for playing
chess board
vscheckerboard
5 1.8

A square board with 64 light and dark squares used for playing chess

is used to mark transparent or empty areas in digital images not for play
check
vscheckerboard
3 3.3

A pattern of small squares, like a chessboard or tablecloth

is used as a digital marker to show transparent or empty areas

Surface Forms

checkerboard singular
checkerboards plural

Morphology

checkerboard = checker + board (transparent) = checker + board

The pattern sense is a direct extension of 'checker' + 'board' to mean an arrangement of alternating squares; learners familiar with the compound will readily infer this pattern meaning.

Etymology

Checkerboard is also the name for the gray-and-white 'square pattern' used in digital design to show a picture has a transparent background. It is called this because the repeating squares look just like the game checkerboard, so designers use that pattern to mean 'see-through' space.