plural dead heats
: a contest in which two or more competitors earn the same score or finish at the same time
—usually singular
The two horses finished in a dead heat.
The election poll showed a statistical dead heat. [=showed that the two candidates were equally popular]
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“Dead heat.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/dead%20heat. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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