end game
or end·game
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.
Origin of end game
First recorded in 1880–85
Words nearby end game
end around,
end artery,
end brush,
end bud,
end bulb,
end game,
end grain,
end in itself,
end justifies the means, the,
end leaf,
end line
Example sentences from the Web for endgame
British Dictionary definitions for endgame
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
Idioms and Phrases with endgame
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.