How to Use nail-biter in a Sentence

nail-biter

noun
  • Each was a nail-biter that kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
    Clayton Davis, Variety, 30 Jan. 2025
  • The Texans lost a nail-biter against the Packers 24-22.
    Shafaq Patel, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024
  • This year is shaping up to be a nail-biter for Ukraine.
    Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 1 Jan. 2025
  • What was once a three-games-to-one rout has become a three-games-to-two nail-biter.
    Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2023
  • Once Dublin heated up, the game turned into a nail-biter.
    Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2024
  • The Supreme Court chose the winner of the 2000 election, which came down to a nail-biter in Florida.
    Lavanya Ramanathan, Vox, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The Rays pulled out a tight one after dropping 1-0 and 2-1 nail-biters, and dodged their first sweep of the season.
    Andrew Seligman, BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2023
  • What began as a blowout — KU led by 22 in the second half — turned into a nail-biter late.
    Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
  • That the game turned into a nail-biter in the final five minutes shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
    Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 15 Jan. 2024
  • Their lone defeat came in a Week 3 nail-biter to Columbine when the Rebels hit the game-winning field goal with 12 seconds left.
    Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2024
  • The outcomes ranged from nail-biters to decisive blowouts.
    Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
  • But her 2024 election to the Senate was, if possible, even more of a nail-biter.
    Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Held in Rod Laver Arena, the final was a nail-biter, but in the third set, Keys hit a forehand winner that sealed the deal.
    Caroline Tien, SELF, 29 Jan. 2025
  • At a time when the GOP’s statewide electoral prospects in California were not quite so dim, the race was a nail-biter.
    Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Washington Post, 22 July 2024
  • Taylor appeared nervous in her suite during the nail-biter of a game.
    Marina Watts, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
  • The game that ended 71-69 was a nail-biter with a one-point margin until the final seconds.
    Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 6 Apr. 2024
  • And, of course, the United States is headed for another nail-biter of an election in 2024.
    TIME, 18 Mar. 2024
  • The contest was a nail-biter the whole way, with no lead exceeding double digits.
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2025
  • His nerves about reaching the falsetto at the end made watching his performance a nail-biter.
    Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
  • The regular-season meeting last month was a nail-biter, with the Big Blue coming out on top, 93-91.
    Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 26 Feb. 2025
  • The Lancers won their first two games before dropping a pair of nail-biters on Friday and Saturday.
    The Arizona Republic, 2 Jan. 2024
  • Even the two teams' closest matchups during this tournament haven't been true nail-biters.
    NBC News, 9 Apr. 2024
  • Though successful, Odysseus' landing last week was a nail-biter.
    Denise Chow, NBC News, 27 Feb. 2024
  • The latest is Hulu’s Paradise, which is a real nail-biter from start to finish.
    Dana Feldman, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Marcus beat Plano 6-5, but gave up three runs in the top of the seventh inning to turn what looked like a comfortable win into a nail-biter.
    Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 19 Apr. 2023
  • For millions of Americans, spring weather is making this eclipse a nail-biter: Will clouds spoil their view?
    Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
  • How did Trump manage to hold on and maintain a comfortable margin in a state that has long been an Election Night nail-biter?
    Ron Elving, NPR, 23 Mar. 2024
  • Week one was full of nail-biters, including an overtime outing.
    oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2023
  • The Chiefs’ nail-biter win overall outpaced other playoff games that took place last weekend.
    Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 27 Jan. 2024
  • Biden won Nevada in 2020 in a nail-biter, and the state is expected to once again be a critical battleground in this year’s election.
    Claudia Grisales, NPR, 7 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nail-biter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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