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 travel of the last 11 days hasn’t been kind to the Cowboys, but beating this team was supposed to be the easy part of the stretch. — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026

Those dreams went up in smoke as Naz Hillmon and Reese scored four crucial points for the Dream down the stretch. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026

Thursday will be the coolest day of the stretch, but still a few degrees above normal with dry weather. — Joseph Dames, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Díaz posted a spotless ERA in five games down the stretch, limiting opponents to one hit combined. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for the stretch

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