general situation; whole picture; overall state
Refers to the entire situation or the big picture, often used in contexts like games (e.g., shogi, go), business, or analysis.
Let's look at the whole board and think about the next move.
This problem cannot be solved without grasping the overall situation.
Compound of 全 (zen, 'all, whole') and 局 (kyoku, 'situation, bureau, board'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning 'overall situation'.