end game

American  

Or endgame

noun

1. Chess. the final stage of a game, usually following the exchange of queens and the serious reduction of forces.

2. the late or final stages of any activity.

   the end game of the negotiations.

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end game Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of end game

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

end game

“I think they would only play that card if it really is the end game for current Iranian regime,” but the market is pricing in some risk of that happening, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

England survived by the skin of their teeth however and, after being edged out of a string of tight matches in 2024, they have found a happy habit of emerging from the end game victorious.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025

They felt earlier this week it was coming towards the end game in their pursuit of Delap, and it was between them and Chelsea.

From BBC ● May 30, 2025

But maybe he is just eking out life with no end game.

From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2025

A well-executed suborbital flight would buy the United States a little breathing room; but orbital flight—the end game of Project Mercury— was infinitely more complex.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly