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
The two horses that chased Balnikhov to the wire in that race — runner-up Flashiest (Armando Ayuso) and Reiquist (Hector Berrios) — are also entered.
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Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Nov. 2025
That sticker, identifying the line, kept the wire from getting a good connection in a circuit breaker – which in turn ultimately caused the first blackout.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 19 Nov. 2025
The label on the wire slid down too close to the end and prevented it from being fully inserted into the terminal.
—Brian Witte, Arkansas Online, 19 Nov. 2025
With the way things have shaped up so far this season and the rematch nearing, there is no question that the race for the NFC West crown is going to come down to the wire.
—Cameron Belcher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2025
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Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Nov. 2025
That sticker, identifying the line, kept the wire from getting a good connection in a circuit breaker – which in turn ultimately caused the first blackout.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 19 Nov. 2025
The label on the wire slid down too close to the end and prevented it from being fully inserted into the terminal.
—Brian Witte, Arkansas Online, 19 Nov. 2025
With the way things have shaped up so far this season and the rematch nearing, there is no question that the race for the NFC West crown is going to come down to the wire.
—Cameron Belcher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Nov. 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 27 Nov. 2025.
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