those are called “TLDs” (Top Level Domains), and they are administered [ICANN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN).
They are the highest levels in the [Domain Name System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name) which allows you to punch in a web address and be directed to the correct [IP address](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address). Generally speaking, website names begin with the smallest unit and work their way up to the biggest (after the www.). So [news.google.com](https://news.google.com) starts with NEWS, which is a section on GOOGLE which is part of the .COM domain.
What do they mean? Well, most of them started out as two letter country codes like .US, (guess who that is!), .RU (Russia) and .CH (which is Switzerland, of course), but others have theoretical meaning. ,EDU should be reserved for educational institutions for example, where is .COM is for generic “commercial” sites. Fun fact: .tv is actually the TLD of Tuvalu, a country in the Pacific!
Latest Answers