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.

---

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of end game

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

In particular, investors want to know whether Mediobanca will be delisted, which KBW continues to see as the end game.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

They worked together until the end, plotting together to vote out Jade, Faraaz and then Jack to secure the win as a pair at the end game.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

“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

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

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2025

It is like an end game in chess, a game with few pieces.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel