the wire
noun
US
: a thin piece of string that the winner of a race breaks through at the end of the race
The marathon ended in a sprint to the wire by the two top runners.
—often used figurativelyThe election went/came (right) down to the wire.
Examples of the wire in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As with years past, in 2025 the organizers of La Jolla’s signature holiday events struggled with city of San Diego permits and processes and donations that didn’t come in when they were needed, sending some things down to the wire or requiring them to be modified so they could be carried out.
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Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
Add it all up, and this one should come down to the wire.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Unterminated speaker cables come in bulk and have no default terminations within the wire itself but are cut by the user to their preferred length.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
Overton faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment on the wire fraud count and a mandatory, consecutive sentence of 2 years imprisonment on the identity theft count.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for the wire
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Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
Add it all up, and this one should come down to the wire.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Unterminated speaker cables come in bulk and have no default terminations within the wire itself but are cut by the user to their preferred length.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026
Overton faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years imprisonment on the wire fraud count and a mandatory, consecutive sentence of 2 years imprisonment on the identity theft count.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for the wire
Cite this Entry
“The wire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20wire. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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