the wire
noun
US
: a thin piece of string that the winner of a race breaks through at the end of the race
The marathon ended in a sprint to the wire by the two top runners.
—often used figurativelyThe election went/came (right) down to the wire.
Examples of the wire in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Amid the regular conjecture about which league is the ‘best’ in the world, Italy’s top flight has had four different winners in five years and, as mentioned, two of those seasons have gone right to the wire.
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James Horncastle, New York Times, 19 May 2025
There’s not much separation among the teams at the top of the league, which means fans should brace themselves for another intense conference title race that goes down to the wire.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 May 2025
Fire personnel cut through the wire to extricate the three people from the pipe by 9 a.m.
—Christian Martinez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025
The race came down to the wire, but Allen slightly edged out Jackson for the award.
—Seth Quinn, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for the wire
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James Horncastle, New York Times, 19 May 2025
There’s not much separation among the teams at the top of the league, which means fans should brace themselves for another intense conference title race that goes down to the wire.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 May 2025
Fire personnel cut through the wire to extricate the three people from the pipe by 9 a.m.
—Christian Martinez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025
The race came down to the wire, but Allen slightly edged out Jackson for the award.
—Seth Quinn, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for the wire
Cite this Entry
“The wire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20wire. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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