even the score
idiom
1
: to get enough points, goals, runs, etc., to have the same score as one's opponent : to tie the score in a game
They evened the score at 5–5.
2
: to harm or punish someone who caused one harm
Examples of even the score in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrews capped the 92-yard march with a 39-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Ethan Shirazi to even the score.
—
Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2025
Newsom responded by calling on California lawmakers to come up with ways to skirt the state’s redistricting regulations and produce maps more favorable to Democrats to even the score.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 20 Aug. 2025
Democrats in turn became both politically neutered and schizophrenic: in a few places successfully depoliticizing redistricting through independent commissions, in other places trying (unsuccessfully) to even the score after the 2020 census with their own aggressive gerrymanders.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
After the controversy in the sixth, the Marlins missed a golden opportunity to even the score in the seventh.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for even the score
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Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2025
Newsom responded by calling on California lawmakers to come up with ways to skirt the state’s redistricting regulations and produce maps more favorable to Democrats to even the score.
—Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 20 Aug. 2025
Democrats in turn became both politically neutered and schizophrenic: in a few places successfully depoliticizing redistricting through independent commissions, in other places trying (unsuccessfully) to even the score after the 2020 census with their own aggressive gerrymanders.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 July 2025
After the controversy in the sixth, the Marlins missed a golden opportunity to even the score in the seventh.
—Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for even the score
Cite this Entry
“Even the score.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/even%20the%20score. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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