endgame

noun

end·​game ˈen(d)-ˌgām How to pronounce endgame (audio)
: the stage of a chess game after major reduction of forces
also : the final stage of some action or process

Examples of endgame in a Sentence

they're now in the endgame of the negotiations for a new labor contract
Recent Examples on the Web But how Hamas’ defeat will be measured and an invasion’s endgame remain unclear. Isabel Debre, Julia Frankel, and Sam Magdy, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Oct. 2023 As war expands, Israel's endgame is no clearer Murad is one of at least 56 people indicted on similar charges. Loveday Morris, Washington Post, 12 Nov. 2023 At the less emotional policy level, Dr. Zogby says frustration is building with the Biden administration for not pushing Israel harder to conduct its military campaign and articulate an endgame in a way that can draw in Israel’s Arab neighbors instead of alienating them. Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Nov. 2023 World & Nation What do Hamas and Israel see as the endgame? A Times Special Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2023 Yet Arab and Western leaders insist that the PA has to be part of the Gaza endgame. Assaf Orion, Foreign Affairs, 3 Nov. 2023 Still others will question whether China would be amenable to such a relationship, given its leaders’ conviction that Washington’s endgame is to destroy Chinese communism. Ryan Hass, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023 Yet as the strikes have dragged on, analysts and even some striking workers have begun to raise a pivotal question: Does Fain have an endgame to bring the strikes to a close? Tom Krisher, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2023 The case itself involves the sitting president’s administration prosecuting his potential opponent over the endgame of their prior election contest. The Editors, National Review, 18 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'endgame.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of endgame was in 1881

Dictionary Entries Near endgame

Cite this Entry

“Endgame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/endgame. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

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