How to Use nail-biter in a Sentence

nail-biter

noun
  • Each was a nail-biter that kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
    Clayton Davis, Variety, 30 Jan. 2025
  • The Texans lost a nail-biter against the Packers 24-22.
    Shafaq Patel, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024
  • This year is shaping up to be a nail-biter for Ukraine.
    Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 1 Jan. 2025
  • This is a rare nail-biter for SDNY – far from a slam-dunk.
    Tracy Wright , Lauryn Overhultz , Maria Paronich , Brendan McDonald, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025
  • What was once a three-games-to-one rout has become a three-games-to-two nail-biter.
    Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2023
  • The fourth rotation was a nail-biter for both fan bases.
    Henry Chappell, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Once Dublin heated up, the game turned into a nail-biter.
    Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2024
  • The Supreme Court chose the winner of the 2000 election, which came down to a nail-biter in Florida.
    Lavanya Ramanathan, Vox, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The Rays pulled out a tight one after dropping 1-0 and 2-1 nail-biters, and dodged their first sweep of the season.
    Andrew Seligman, BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2023
  • Bailey hears that theme from consumers who just aren’t in the mood for any more nail-biters.
    Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025
  • What began as a blowout — KU led by 22 in the second half — turned into a nail-biter late.
    Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
  • That the game turned into a nail-biter in the final five minutes shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
    Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 15 Jan. 2024
  • Once the second half started, Marshfield tried to grind the game back into a nail-biter.
    Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Their lone defeat came in a Week 3 nail-biter to Columbine when the Rebels hit the game-winning field goal with 12 seconds left.
    Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2024
  • The outcomes ranged from nail-biters to decisive blowouts.
    Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
  • But her 2024 election to the Senate was, if possible, even more of a nail-biter.
    Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2025
  • But her 2024 election to the Senate was, if possible, even more of a nail-biter.
    Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Held in Rod Laver Arena, the final was a nail-biter, but in the third set, Keys hit a forehand winner that sealed the deal.
    Caroline Tien, SELF, 29 Jan. 2025
  • At a time when the GOP’s statewide electoral prospects in California were not quite so dim, the race was a nail-biter.
    Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Washington Post, 22 July 2024
  • Locked in a nail-biter with just under two minutes to play, Taylor opted to heave a shot for the end zone.
    Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 19 July 2025
  • Taylor appeared nervous in her suite during the nail-biter of a game.
    Marina Watts, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
  • For the Bengals, the Ravens matchup has been a tough one: Cincinnati has lost each of the past three games, including last year’s nail-biter, 35-34.
    Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 27 May 2025
  • Not every movie needs to be a nail-biter, and not every plot needs to be engineered like a Maserati.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2025
  • The game that ended 71-69 was a nail-biter with a one-point margin until the final seconds.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 6 Apr. 2024
  • And, of course, the United States is headed for another nail-biter of an election in 2024.
    TIME, 18 Mar. 2024
  • Not every matchup has been a nail-biter.
    Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 June 2026
  • Although there have been hundreds of close calls and nail-biters, there have been some comebacks that feel like a movie come to life.
    Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
  • This is when the tournament starts to become a real nail-biter.
    Juliana Kim, NPR, 10 June 2026
  • Equally impressive was the nail-biter at Riviera, where there was a four-way tie for the lead at various points in the final round.
    ABC News, 8 June 2026
  • From there, the Gators used three pitchers over two innings as Rider turned a runaway into a nail-biter.
    Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nail-biter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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