Definition

Noun: 1. The final stage of a chess game: The phase of a chess match that occurs after many pieces have been captured, typically characterized by strategic maneuvering with kings, pawns, and a few remaining pieces. 2. The final stage of any extended process or strategy: The concluding phase of a complex endeavor, such as a negotiation, business plan, or political campaign, where the ultimate outcome is determined.

Examples

• Chess context:
  • The grandmaster is a renowned expert in the end game, often winning from seemingly equal positions.
  • In the end game, precise calculation of pawn moves is crucial.
• Strategic/figurative context:
  • The diplomats entered the end game of the peace talks.
  • The company's end game is to dominate the market by acquiring its main competitor.

Advanced Usage

• "to be in the end game": To be in the final, decisive phase of a process.
  • With the election only a week away, the political campaigns are now in the end game.
• "to play the end game": To execute the final part of a long-term strategy.
  • The CEO is carefully playing the end game to ensure a smooth merger.

Variants and Related Words

• Endgame (noun): This is a common alternative spelling, written as a single word. The meaning is identical.
  • The spy thriller focused on the complex endgame of the intelligence operation.

Synonyms

• Final phase/stage: The last part of a process.
• Culmination: The highest or climactic point of something, especially when attained after a long process.
• Conclusion: The end or finish of an event or process.

Related Phrases

• Endgame strategy: The specific plan for the final phase.
  • Their endgame strategy involved a massive public relations campaign.

Noun

1. the final stages of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from the board
2. the final stages of an extended process of negotiation
   • the diplomatic endgame