end game
or endgame
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noun
Chess. the final stage of a game, usually following the exchange of queens and the serious reduction of forces.
the late or final stages of any activity: the end game of the negotiations.
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Origin of end game
First recorded in 1880–85
Words nearby end game
endergonic, endermic, Enders, en déshabillé, end-feet, end game, endgate, end grain, endhand, Endicott, ending
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for end game
British Dictionary definitions for end game
endgame
/ (ˈɛndˌɡeɪm) /
noun
Also called: ending the closing stage of a game of chess, in which only a few pieces are left on the board
the closing stage of any of certain other games
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with end game
end game
The final stage of some process, as in The book discussed the diplomatic end game resulting in the treaty. This term, dating from about 1880, comes from chess, where it denotes the stage of a game when most of the pieces have been removed from the board. In the mid-1900s it began to be transferred to other activities.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.