cliff-hanger
noun
cliff-hang·er
ˈklif-ˌhaŋ-ər 
1
: an adventure serial or melodrama
especially
: one presented in installments each ending in suspense
2
: a contest whose outcome is in doubt up to the very end
broadly
: a suspenseful situation
Examples of cliff-hanger in a Sentence
finally, a Super Bowl game that turned out to be a real cliff-hanger
Recent Examples on the Web
To stay in the moment long enough to appreciate the feel of paper pages and a cliff-hanger chapter?
—
Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2024
Noah Lyles’ performance in the men’s 100-meter sprint Sunday night was the race seen around the world – a cliff-hanger that came down to five-thousandths of a second.
—Ira Porter, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Then, the race turned into a cliff-hanger.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Last week's episode ended on quite the cliff-hanger.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, the future of the region’s lone rail line is, literally, a cliff-hanger.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2024
The episode ended on a cliff-hanger, with fans unsure of who receive Gerry's other rose.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023
When a species has reached the verge of extinction, recovery programs become awful, expensive cliff-hangers.
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
Season 2 ended with a dramatic cliff-hanger as the show grapples with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to play some of the real life fears and tensions from March 2020.
—Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 26 Aug. 2023
Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Sep. 2024
Noah Lyles’ performance in the men’s 100-meter sprint Sunday night was the race seen around the world – a cliff-hanger that came down to five-thousandths of a second.
—Ira Porter, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Aug. 2024
Advertisement Then, the race turned into a cliff-hanger.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Last week's episode ended on quite the cliff-hanger.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, the future of the region’s lone rail line is, literally, a cliff-hanger.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2024
The episode ended on a cliff-hanger, with fans unsure of who receive Gerry's other rose.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023
When a species has reached the verge of extinction, recovery programs become awful, expensive cliff-hangers.
—Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019
Season 2 ended with a dramatic cliff-hanger as the show grapples with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to play some of the real life fears and tensions from March 2020.
—Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 26 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cliff-hanger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to cliff-hanger
Dictionary Entries Near cliff-hanger
Cite this Entry
“Cliff-hanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cliff-hanger. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share