game over

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English

The "Game Over" screen from Torus Trooper.

Etymology

The message originated on pinball machines and has been very widely used in video games.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌɡeɪm ˈəʊ.və(ɹ)/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌɡeɪm ˈoʊ.vɚ/

Phrase

game over

  1. (video games) A message signaling that the game has ended, usually because the player failed (for example by losing all of their lives) but sometimes following successful completion of the game.
    • 1984, Robert Maxxe, Arcade:
      Before I could figure out what the hell was the object of the game, I hear the thing go boom-boom, and the screen lights up with a sign: game over.
  2. (by extension) The end of some ongoing situation due to either failure or success, typically failure.
    If your wife finds out about us, it's game over!
    • 1986, Aliens:
      That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?
    • 2004, Ryan Russell, Stealing the Network: How to Own a Continent, page xxi:
      Once we started attacking that network from the inside, it was pretty much game over.
  3. (by extension) Death.
    When you have cancer, you pretty much have two options: chemotherapy, or game over.

Translations

See also

Noun

game over (plural game overs)

  1. (video games) An appearance of a game over message.
    When you die too many times in this game, you get a game over.

Verb

game over (third-person singular simple present game overs or games over, present participle game overing or gaming over, simple past and past participle game overed or gamed over)

  1. (video games, rare, intransitive) To receive a 'game over' message.
  2. (video games, rare, transitive) To deliver to someone a 'game over' message.

Alternative forms

Further reading

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