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
The Newsom administration, the wire service revealed, recently took out a $3.44 billion loan from the state’s general fund to cover the program’s costs for this month.
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Editorial, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
Fried was part of the Braves’ tight division battle with the Mets in 2022, as well as last year’s playoff push that took both teams down to the wire.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 18 May 2025
The grounding line is meant to be connected to the tower and buried deep in the ground, but photos submitted in court showed about 4 feet of the wire protruding from the steep hillside, under the tower.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
Amid the regular conjecture about which league is the ‘best’ in the world, Italy’s top flight has had four different winners in five years and, as mentioned, two of those seasons have gone right to the wire.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 19 May 2025
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Editorial, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
Fried was part of the Braves’ tight division battle with the Mets in 2022, as well as last year’s playoff push that took both teams down to the wire.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 18 May 2025
The grounding line is meant to be connected to the tower and buried deep in the ground, but photos submitted in court showed about 4 feet of the wire protruding from the steep hillside, under the tower.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
Amid the regular conjecture about which league is the ‘best’ in the world, Italy’s top flight has had four different winners in five years and, as mentioned, two of those seasons have gone right to the wire.
—James Horncastle, New York Times, 19 May 2025
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 3 Jun. 2025.
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