white-knuckle
adjective
white-knuck·le
ˈ(h)wīt-ˈnə-kəl 
variants
or less commonly white-knuckled
: marked by, causing, or experiencing tense nervousness
a white-knuckle ride on a roller coaster
a white-knuckle passenger
white-knuckler
noun
plural white-knucklers
The 65-mile speedway connecting Vancouver and the mountain town of Whistler was a white-knuckler for decades.
—
Christian DeBenedetti
Christian DeBenedetti
Examples of white-knuckle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And Jones delivers plenty of thrills as our heroes cover 435 miles in five-plus days, peaking in a zip-line misadventure packed with white-knuckle antics and tension-cutting quips.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
The director goes full white-knuckle thrill ride in its sequel, orchestrating a glorious sandworm riding sequence that took 44 days to shoot.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Zion Adventures has had climbers as young as 5 and as old as 74 white-knuckle their way along the routes.
—Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024
Access to Arizona wilderness areas is a mixed bag of easy walk-ins from paved suburban roads (Munds Mountain Wilderness in Sedona) to miles of driving on white-knuckle two tracks in the middle of nowhere (Bear Wallow Wilderness near Hannagan Meadow in the White Mountains).
—Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 18 Jan. 2024
Zemeckis, meanwhile, balances the script's bigger questions with white-knuckle awe.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
But the Kings held on despite turning the blowout into a white-knuckle finish.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 28 Jan. 2024
The white-knuckle ride has carried him from Killdeer, N.D., population 913, to Okeechobee, Fla.; from Fort Madison, home of the Iowa State Penitentiary, to Parowan, Utah; from Havre, Montana, known for Big Bud 747, the world’s largest farm tractor, to Grand Island, Neb.
And Southaven, Miss.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2024
Rising to prominence in the Seventies, Friedkin came to specialize in gritty, white-knuckle thrillers, often shot through with a healthy dose of documentary-style realism.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2023
Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2024
The director goes full white-knuckle thrill ride in its sequel, orchestrating a glorious sandworm riding sequence that took 44 days to shoot.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Zion Adventures has had climbers as young as 5 and as old as 74 white-knuckle their way along the routes.
—Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024
Access to Arizona wilderness areas is a mixed bag of easy walk-ins from paved suburban roads (Munds Mountain Wilderness in Sedona) to miles of driving on white-knuckle two tracks in the middle of nowhere (Bear Wallow Wilderness near Hannagan Meadow in the White Mountains).
—Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 18 Jan. 2024
Zemeckis, meanwhile, balances the script's bigger questions with white-knuckle awe.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
But the Kings held on despite turning the blowout into a white-knuckle finish.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 28 Jan. 2024
The white-knuckle ride has carried him from Killdeer, N.D., population 913, to Okeechobee, Fla.; from Fort Madison, home of the Iowa State Penitentiary, to Parowan, Utah; from Havre, Montana, known for Big Bud 747, the world’s largest farm tractor, to Grand Island, Neb.
And Southaven, Miss.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2024
Rising to prominence in the Seventies, Friedkin came to specialize in gritty, white-knuckle thrillers, often shot through with a healthy dose of documentary-style realism.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'white-knuckle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1872, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near white-knuckle
Cite this Entry
“White-knuckle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white-knuckle. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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