the stretch

noun

: the final straight part of a racecourse before the finish line

the horses are in the (final) stretch

—often used figuratively

She's in the final stretch. The baby's due next month.

They will wind up the season with a winning record having won some crucial games down the stretch.

Examples of the stretch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The issue: Down the stretch, especially against Carolina, not much else was. —Sean Gentille, New York Times, 17 May 2025

Concentrate on the feeling of the stretch and slowly — slowly! —Alexander Cheves, Them., 16 May 2025

And despite the gameplay and unpredictability down the stretch, that is kind of what happened. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 15 May 2025

The Nuggets’ second-year wing was sidelined down the stretch of the regular season with injury, but seemed like a candidate at some point to offer helpful minutes, one of the only shooters (35% from 3in 2024-25) with upside on Denver’s bench. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 15 May 2025

Rhymes for the stretch

• etch
• fetch
• fletch
• ketch
• sketch
• vetch
• wretch