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 figuratively

The election went/came (right) down to the wire.

Examples of the wire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The past two times Oregon played Boise State, the games went down to the wire. — Austin Meek, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Some versions of the rumor said the wire service correspondent in that pool was supposed to join the president in the bunker. — Sonya Ross For The Atlanta Journal-Contitution, AJC.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Photographs from the scene show crunched cars snarled in chunks of the wire fence that used to separate the airport from the road. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2026

Still, the Bears went 11-6 last year compared to Carolina’s 8-9, won a playoff game the same weekend that the Panthers couldn’t and then took the Rams to the wire themselves before getting knocked out in the second round. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for the wire

• briar
• brier
• buyer
• choir
• crier
• cryer
• drier
• dryer
• eyer
• flier
• flyer
• friar