as in thrillers
something (as a close contest) that induces much suspense as to its outcome
a presidential election that was one of the great nail-biters of all time
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Recent Examples of nail-biters
As spooky season approaches, there’s no better time than now to revisit these classic nail-biters—and revel in their impeccable period styling.
—
Radhika Seth, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025
Louisville-area football fans saw some blowouts and some nail-biters Friday night.
—Rich Barak, Louisville Courier Journal, 23 Aug. 2025
The plan looked genius early in the season, when the Giants were winning nail-biters, walking off games with Little League and inside-the-park home runs and Wilmer Flores’ clutch hitting.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Radhika Seth, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2025
Louisville-area football fans saw some blowouts and some nail-biters Friday night.
—Rich Barak, Louisville Courier Journal, 23 Aug. 2025
The plan looked genius early in the season, when the Giants were winning nail-biters, walking off games with Little League and inside-the-park home runs and Wilmer Flores’ clutch hitting.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nail-biters
thrillers
Noun
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Three of Raff’s most significant projects have been espionage thrillers.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
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Per a press release shared with PEOPLE, Psak's follow-up thrillers are set to release in 2026.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nail-biters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nail-biters. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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