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photo finishes

noun

plural of photo finish
1
as in thrillers

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2
as in sudden deaths

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for photo finishes
  1. thrillers
  2. round-robins
  3. hair-raisers
  4. runoffs
  5. nail-biters
  6. runs
  7. cliff-hangers
  8. volleys
Noun
  • Johnson’s role in Verity is Lowen Ashleigh, a down-on-her-luck writer who moves into the house of a mysteriously ailing but much more successful novelist, Verity Crawford (Hathaway), to help finish a blockbuster series of thrillers.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The framing device recalls classic stage-to-screen thrillers such as Sleuth and, more pertinently, Death Trap, both being one-location cat-and-mouse thrillers in which the power balance constantly changes.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of thrillers
Noun
  • Think structured round-robins, rotating roles in meetings, or paired discussions before group sharing.
    — Ruth Oh Reitmeier, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Definition of round-robins
Noun
  • The streamer has a deep bench of horror films from all eras of cinema among its offerings, from influential classics like Nosferatu (1922) to newer hair-raisers like Possessor (2020), and all kinds of thrillers and chillers in between.
    — Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026
Definition of hair-raisers
Noun
  • Georgia gubernatorial primaries likely to head to runoffs Both the Democratic and Republican primaries could easily go to a runoff, meaning no single candidate reached a 50% majority during the first election.
    — Irene Wright, USA Today, 15 May 2026
  • Candidates look to avoid runoffs Meanwhile, Talarico and Crockett are hoping to avoid a May 26 runoff by capturing at least 50% of the Democratic vote in the March 3 primary.
    — Meg Kinnard, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Definition of runoffs
Noun
  • 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
  • The Avs, who won the President’s Trophy with the league’s best regular-season record, opened the playoffs with a pair of 2-1 nail-biters over the Kings.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 May 2026
Definition of nail-biters
Noun
  • And among those five appearances, their three best postseason runs have all come in the past three seasons.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Arizona’s Corbin Burnes gave five runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings, leaving after reaching his 75-pitch limit.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of runs
Noun
  • In other words, cut the contentious cliff-hangers and replace them with pasta and palazzos — and stories people can connect with.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
  • And many have speculated that Netflix’s vast trove of data informs certain narrative habits on its shows (cliff-hangers to encourage bingeing, for example, and frequent restating of plot points to engage viewers distracted by their phones).
    — Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
Definition of cliff-hangers
Noun
  • The problem with one of them — the coming forward — is that Shelton’s volleys and touch shots are still raw and under-developed.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Medasin, whose thesis was already overflowing with preemptive volleys and counterfactuals, batted away the refutation.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of volleys
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.

Browse Nearby Words

photo finish
photo finishes
photog
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Cite this Entry

“Photo finishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/photo%20finishes. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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