Definition of "endgame" []

• Games The final stage of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from the board. (noun)
• The final stage of an extended process or course of events: the diplomatic endgame that led to the treaty. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Yet, I resist it, since the endgame is a balkanized society."
• "Guardian leads with what it calls the endgame of the war in Libya - and the fate of the key city of Sirte."
• "The defense chief also said the next president would receive the blame if the "endgame" is not handled correctly."