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Glite Dictionary
draughts

draughts

6.1
A two-player board game where pieces move diagonally and jump over opponents to capture them
  • noun
  • /dræfts/
  • UK
translation icon : damas
  • They played draughts in the park yesterday.

Examples

  • We spent the rainy afternoon playing draughts by the fireplace.

  • She taught her grandson the rules of draughts and they played together every weekend.

  • Many regard draughts as a game of skill and strategy, not just luck.

  • My grandfather taught me how to play draughts.

  • My friends and I often play draughts on rainy afternoons to pass the time.

  • He taught his little sister how to play draughts during their family game night.

  • The match of draughts lasted for hours as both players strategized their moves carefully.

Synonyms

checkers
vsdraughts
  • US
1 1.7

A board game for two players where each moves pieces diagonally to capture the other's pieces by jumping over them

is the same game but uses a different regional name

Surface Forms

draughts plural
checkers plural

Morphology

draughts = draught (opaque) = draught + s

The plural '-s' is a regular plural marker, but the specific sense 'the board game' is not derivable from the common senses of 'draught' (air, drink, drawing), so learners will not reliably infer the game meaning.

Etymology

Draughts comes from the old word draught, which meant a 'move' and is related to the familiar word draw. So the game is named for the moves you make on the board, and that's why British English calls it draughts (in American English it is often called 'checkers').