What it means
The ultimate goal you are quietly working towards, the big payoff that makes all the grind worth it. What is the endgame here, the question that cuts through the noise to ask where this is all actually heading. Also the final, high-stakes phase of anything.
Usage examples
"Saving hard now, the endgame is a little place by the sea."
"Free trials are fun but what is their actual endgame?"
"We're doing all this overtime now, but the endgame is getting the shop open by summer."
"He's chatting big about the app, but what's the endgame, sell it or sit on it?"
Where it comes from
It comes straight from chess, where the endgame is the last phase of play, when most pieces are gone and every move suddenly matters more. From there it spread into gaming and everyday talk for the final stretch, or the real long-term goal behind all the noise and effort.
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