neck and neck

as in narrow
showing little difference in the standing of the competitors a neck and neck finish in which only a fraction of a second separated the winner from the runner-up

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for neck and neck
Adjective
  • In more challenging games, however, the side often flatters to deceive and occasionally slips up, as a narrow 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors and 0-1 loss to Benfica showed.
    Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
  • Nothing dramatizes the human comedy with more precision than the sound of a happily narrow mind retorting to the wider environment.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • The likelihood of lightning increases as a thunderstorm gets closer and reaches its highest point when the storm is directly overhead.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 28 June 2025
  • Bacon has served Nebraska in Congress since 2017, winning multiple competitive races in the state's 2nd Congressional District, an area that has seen increasingly close contests between Republicans and Democrats in recent election cycles.
    Anna Commander, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Neck and neck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/neck%20and%20neck. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.

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