chess clock

1 4.1

A set of two clocks with a switch that tracks each player's time in a chess game

noun
/tʃɛs klɑk/

: reloj de ajedrez

Examples

The chess clock had been punched, the minute hand had begun its circle.

Fiction book (1999)
The players anxiously watched the chess clock as their remaining time decreased with each move.
During the tournament, each game was timed with a chess clock to ensure fair play.
He adjusted the chess clock before starting the match to avoid any time disputes.

Surface Forms

chess clock singular

chess clocks plural

Morphology

chess + clock

The compound 'chess clock' is directly built from 'chess' (the game) + 'clock' (a timekeeping device), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a clock used for chess to track players' time. This noun+noun composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern; while a learner might not infer the precise two-clock mechanism, the core function is immediately comprehensible.

Etymology

The noun chess clock comes from the simple idea of a clock made for chess: two linked clocks with a button so only the player whose turn it is has a running clock. When you press the button your clock stops and your opponent's starts, so the device shows how much 'time' each player has left.