neck and neck

adverb or adjective

|Updated on: 1 Aug 2018

Definition of neck and neck

: very close (as in a race)

Recent Examples of neck and neck from the Web

Meanwhile, Man Utd striker Romelu Lukaku is now neck and neck with for Old Trafford favourite Cristiano Ronaldo in the race to win the World Cup Golden Boot.

— SI.com, "Manchester Giants Prepare to Battle Over French Sensation as PSG Face Financial Fair Play Nightmare," 24 June 2018
Longtime county council member and staunch progressive Marc Elrich and wealthy Potomac businessman and political newcomer David Blair were neck and neck in the race for the Democratic nomination for Montgomery County executive Tuesday night.

— jennifer barrios, Washington Post, "Elrich and Blair neck and neck in Montgomery County executive race, but still too close to call," 26 June 2018
Yet when combined, the opposition alliance stands, plus the Kurds, neck and neck with Mr. Erdogan.

— New York Times, "Turkish Opposition Hopes 4 Parties Are Mightier Than 1 Against Erdogan," 9 June 2018
With the three barreling into Tuesday’s primary election day neck and neck, the race has become tremendously expensive — especially in term of Idaho politics.

— tara golshan, Vox, "There’s a governor’s race in the fastest-growing state in the country: Idaho.," 14 May 2018
The two candidates were neck and neck for most of the evening as votes were tallied.

— robert higgs, cleveland.com, "State Rep. Nickie Antonio tops Rep. Martin Sweeney in Democratic primary for state Senate seat," 8 May 2018
Both candidates are neck and neck; sometimes one is slightly ahead, sometimes the other is slightly ahead.

— anthony man, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Nelson blasts Scott as Puerto Ricans face loss of emergency housing in Florida," 30 June 2018
That puts Orlando neck and neck with Las Vegas as Spirit’s second-busiest base, CEO Bob Fornaro and President Ted Christie said in an interview with USA TODAY.

— ben mutzabaugh, USA TODAY, "June route roundup: Where airlines are adding (or cutting) service," 25 June 2018
Opinion polling suggests the two parties are neck and neck.

— karin laub, Fox News, "Corbyn: Labour government would quickly recognize Palestine," 22 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'neck and neck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.