How to Use nail-biter in a Sentence
nail-biter
noun-
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
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Once Dublin heated up, the game turned into a nail-biter.
—Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2024
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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
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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
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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
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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
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And, of course, the United States is headed for another nail-biter of an election in 2024.
—TIME, 18 Mar. 2024
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His nerves about reaching the falsetto at the end made watching his performance a nail-biter.
—Kimi Robinson, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
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The Lancers won their first two games before dropping a pair of nail-biters on Friday and Saturday.
—The Arizona Republic, 2 Jan. 2024
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Even the two teams' closest matchups during this tournament haven't been true nail-biters.
—NBC News, 9 Apr. 2024
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Though successful, Odysseus' landing last week was a nail-biter.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 27 Feb. 2024
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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
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For millions of Americans, spring weather is making this eclipse a nail-biter: Will clouds spoil their view?
—Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
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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
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Week one was full of nail-biters, including an overtime outing.
—oregonlive, 4 Sep. 2023
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The Chiefs’ nail-biter win overall outpaced other playoff games that took place last weekend.
—Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 27 Jan. 2024
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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
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November’s election looks to be a nail-biter at all levels, but not all close races are created equal.
—Henry Olsen, National Review, 30 June 2024
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Of course, this year’s Golden Globes, the first under new ownership, has been a bit of a nail-biter on several fronts — starting, of course, with the org’s ownership change.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 11 Dec. 2023
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Remember, both these teams played in nail-biters at the sectional-final level.
—Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2023
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Guy Ritchie, though, does a much more stimulating job with this nail-biter about a secret wartime operation.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
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The unique nail-biter takes place in the shadows of L.A.’s homeless camps, run-down motels and dark alleys, following women who have turned — for various reasons — to a life of crime.
—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
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The nail-biter of a game saw Lions quarterback Jared Goff dominate the gridiron, completing 22 of 27 pass attempts while throwing for one touchdown.
—Justin Klawans, The Week Us, theweek, 15 Jan. 2024
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That victory, behind two first-half goals from Hayley Raso, righted a ship that appeared to be sinking after a nail-biter with Ireland and a loss to Nigeria.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
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James Mangold, who also directed 2013's The Wolverine, keeps a tight rein on this nail-biter by making his heroes human and not impenetrable to the ravages of time.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 21 Jan. 2024
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In Ware’s latest nail-biter, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are partners in a business that tests companies’ potential security flaws.
—Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 28 July 2023
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Saturday will be a nail-biter, with the forecast calling for exactly 100 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
—Sarah Bahari, Dallas News, 8 Sep. 2023
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In addition to being a great family comedy movie, Jumanji is also a real nail-biter.
—Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 16 Apr. 2024
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The competing claims came early Monday after a nail-biter evening during which each camp accused the other of announcing misleading information.
—Gulsin Harman, New York Times, 14 May 2023
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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