Can I use "at this point" to emphasize the effort made to reach a conclusion?

Question

Can I use "at this point" to emphasize the effort made to reach a conclusion?

Thefreedictioanry says that it means:

At the present moment; right now; currently.

At this point, we are the best ranked football team in the country.

However, I was wondering if I could use this expression in a slightly different way - as indicated in the title of this post.

Suppose we're standing by the entrance of a restaurant, waiting for a friend to come. After half an hour, we decide it is pointless to keep waiting and decide to enter without him or her. Can I use this expression to emphasize the fact that it doesn't make sense to keep waiting?

We might as well go in at this point.

As if saying,

We might as well go in, considering that our friend hasn't shown up yet, and we've been waiting for half an hour.

If this is not the meaning the expression conveys, is there another one we can use in this case?

Answer 1

Yes, it is often used that way. Although I wouldn't necessarily describe it as emphasizing previous effort (though it can indeed do this) but rather more generally as suggesting that a certain course of action is now somehow compelled based on what has transpired before "this point." For example:

At this point, we have no other options. We have to sell the company.

Or how about:

I've already eaten most of the pizza. At this point, I might as well finish it off.