horse race

noun

Definition of horse racenext
1
as in ball game

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in photo finish

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for horse race
  1. ball game
  2. photo finish
  3. toss-up
  4. confrontation
  5. war
  6. duel
  7. combat
  8. contention
Noun
  • So the argument to be made in Mahomes' quick turnaround return this week is that the Chiefs assume the Bills will finish 14-3 and won't take any of their three remaining ball games for granted in their efforts to secure the No. 1 spot.
    Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
  • The ball courts in this study were used for several ball games, including pok-a-tok.
    Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2024
Definition of ball game
Noun
  • In the men’s 100-meter final, Noah Lyles and six other runners were involved in a photo finish — 0.09 seconds separated Lyles from seventh place.
    The Athletic Staff, The Athletic, 11 Aug. 2024
  • May 4 - Mystik Dan wins the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby in a dramatic photo finish.
    CNN, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
Definition of photo finish
Noun
  • But in a race that polls showed to be a toss-up, during a year when Israel was at war and antisemitism was exploding, the Jewish vote was the subject of an unusual amount of attention.
    Philip Klein, National Review, 21 Nov. 2024
  • While the women’s WarGames match is genuinely a toss-up as to which side will emerge with a victory, Stratton best fits the bill as a borderline top star who really needs a marquee victory to catapult her to the next level.
    Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
Definition of toss-up
Noun
  • But Washington’s refusal to let Seoul act on its concerns now sets the allies up for an unnecessary confrontation.
    Robert E. Kelly, Foreign Affairs, 30 Dec. 2024
  • This heated confrontation quickly escalated, and soon after, a match between the two was officially announced for January 11, 2025, at an upcoming ROW event.
    George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
Definition of confrontation
Noun
  • Foreign direct investment in India had dropped by an astonishing 43 percent in the preceding year, partly thanks to high borrowing costs and unease about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
    Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2025
  • This was a generation whose development took place in the long shadow of World War II, in the midst of the intense opposition to the American war in Vietnam, and against the backdrop of the increasingly widespread recognition of pervasive social injustice at home and abroad.
    David A. Ross, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025
Definition of war
Noun
  • From an opening scene on the high seas as a French merchant ship is aflame to a stag hunt on an aristocratic estate to a pistol duel at dawn, the writer-directors capture the scope and grandeur of Dumas’ story.
    Scott Phillips, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
  • In fact, isolating it to just the defensive third, their 69.1 per cent aerial duel and 65.1 per cent ground duel success is the highest by a team in any Premier League season since 2018-19.
    Liam Tharme, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
Definition of duel
Noun
  • The outlet added that first responders at the scene were reminded of combat wounds because of the severity of the injuries.
    Clare Fisher, People.com, 2 Jan. 2025
  • He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor.
    The Gazette, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 2 Jan. 2025
Definition of combat
Noun
  • Week 15 saw the number of teams that have qualified for the playoffs increase to seven, while two more were cut out of contention.
    Sam Joseph, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024
  • Trump announced that the Republican Party would aim to eliminate the practice of changing the time, which has been a topic of bipartisan contention for years.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of contention
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near horse race

horsepower

horse race

horse races

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Horse race.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/horse%20race. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

Using Bullet Points ( • )

'Gray' vs. 'Grey': What is the difference?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
tiny woman sitting on a pile of books reading
Little Words, Big Vocabulary Quiz Time to sweat the small stuff.