Definition of End stage

End stage: The last phase in the course of a progressive disease. As in end-stage liver disease, end-stage lung disease, end-stage renal disease, end-stage cancer, etc. The term "end stage" has come to replace "terminal" because somehow "end stage" seems more scientific and less despairing than "terminal." The only "stage" past "end stage" is usually death or a reprieve from it by a transplant.