as in tie
a situation in which neither participant in a contest, competition, or struggle comes out ahead of the other
the horses crossed the finish line in a dead heat
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Recent Examples of dead heat
In a smaller Emerson College poll Aug, 11-12, coinciding with the TSU poll, Cornyn and Paxton came out in a dead heat.
—
Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2025
The two teams are in a dead heat with 42 games remaining, shrinking any margin for error.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2025
Also scoring the second-biggest opening day of 2025 behind Chicken Jockey juggernaut A Minecraft Movie, Fantastic Four pulled in another $100 million internationally — placing it in a virtual dead heat with Superman, which took in $220 million over its global opening.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 28 July 2025
Martina Navratilova won 74 straight matches in 1984. 1990 — The 18th triple dead heat in modern thoroughbred history takes place in the ninth race at Arlington International Racecourse.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dead heat
Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2025
The two teams are in a dead heat with 42 games remaining, shrinking any margin for error.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2025
Also scoring the second-biggest opening day of 2025 behind Chicken Jockey juggernaut A Minecraft Movie, Fantastic Four pulled in another $100 million internationally — placing it in a virtual dead heat with Superman, which took in $220 million over its global opening.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 28 July 2025
Martina Navratilova won 74 straight matches in 1984. 1990 — The 18th triple dead heat in modern thoroughbred history takes place in the ninth race at Arlington International Racecourse.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dead heat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dead heat
Noun
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She was dressed in a heather-gray blouse with pleated draping and a black mock bow-tie.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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Devin Lloyd easily stepped in front of a Mahomes pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown in what was a tie game.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Kempes, for example, played particularly deep in a goalless draw with Brazil in the second group phase, perhaps having remembered the criticism from Di Stefano.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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The Wisconsin Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.—
Steven Martinez,
jsonline.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dead heat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dead%20heat. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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