photo finish

noun

1

: a race or finish in which contestants are so close that a photograph of them as they cross the finish line has to be examined to determine the winner

2

: a close contest

Examples of photo finish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The good boy's sprint was caught by the photo finish camera. —Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Feb. 2026

Four years ago in Beijing, Alessandro Hämmerle beat Éliot Grondin by a nose to win the snowboard cross gold in a photo finish. —Chris Branch, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026

In speedskating, the Netherlands’ Xandra Velzeboer won gold in the women’s 500-meter final, and her countryman Jens van ’t Wout won gold in the men’s 1,000 meters in a thrilling photo finish. —The Sports Desk, NBC news, 12 Feb. 2026

There can be photo finishes, and crashes. —Ramon Padilla, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for photo finish

• diminish
• finnish
• minish

Kids Definition

photo finish

noun

1

: a finish of a race in which contestants are so close that a photograph of them crossing the finish line has to be examined to decide the winner

2

: a close contest (as in an election)