the wire

noun

US

: a thin piece of string that the winner of a race breaks through at the end of the race

The marathon ended in a sprint to the wire by the two top runners.

—often used figuratively

The election went/came (right) down to the wire.

Examples of the wire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Several games came down to the wire, a few miscues led to losses and even ties and there were clutch moments that made Sunday exciting. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a plate or a wire rack and reinvert onto the wire rack to cool completely before frosting, about 90 minutes. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026

Jones, which has reached state semifinal games in six of the past seven seasons, needs to handle a Lake Wales team that took DeLand to the wire in the season opener, losing 35-34. — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

One of the contractors wired $45 million to the holding company in January, a transaction that forms the basis of the wire fraud charge. — Stefan Becket, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

Rhymes for the wire

• briar
• brier
• buyer
• choir
• crier
• cryer
• drier
• dryer
• eyer
• flier
• flyer
• friar