English Reference
Idiom idiom

chess piece


A person being manipulated by another, being used to some end.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

He felt like a chess piece in his boss's game.

CONTEXTUAL

The politician realized he was just a chess piece being moved around to help his party win the election.

COMPLEX

She refused to remain a mere chess piece in their complex power struggle, choosing instead to take control of her own future.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    cut to pieces

    To utterly defeat or overwhelm.

  2. 02

    give someone a piece of one's mind

    To express one's opinion strongly; to voice one's disagreement or dissatisfaction, especially with another person; to scold or rebuke someone.

  3. 03

    pick up the pieces

    To restore one's life (or a given situation etc.) to a normal state, after a calamity, shock etc.

  4. 04

    piece of ass

    An act of sexual intercourse, especially a one-night stand.

  5. 05

    piece of cake

    A job, task or other activity that is pleasant or, by extension, easy or simple.

  6. 06

    piece of crap

    Synonym of piece of shit.

  7. 07

    piece of shit

    A bad thing; an object of poor quality.

  8. 08

    piece of someone

    A chance to find out something interesting about someone.

Last updated August 10, 2026