cliffhanger

American  

[klif-hang-er] / ˈklɪfˌhæŋ ər /

Or cliff-hanger

noun

1. a melodramatic or adventure serial in which each installment ends in suspense in order to interest the reader or viewer in the next installment.

2. a single installment in such a serial.

3. a suspenseful movie, novel, etc.

4. the suspenseful ending itself.

5. a situation or contest of which the outcome is suspensefully uncertain up to the very last moment.

   The game was a cliffhanger, but our team finally won.

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cliffhanger British  

/ ˈklɪfˌhæŋə /

noun

1. 1. a situation of imminent disaster usually occurring at the end of each episode of a serialized film

   2. the serialized film itself

2. a situation that is dramatic or uncertain

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Other Word Forms

• cliffhanging adjective

Etymology

Origin of cliffhanger

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

Back in the current Archers timeline, fans were left on tenterhooks by the cliffhanger broadcast on New Year's Eve, when a dramatic attack shook the village.

From BBC

Tarantino peels away the cliffhanger at the end of “Vol. 1” and expands an animated sequence that he didn’t have time to finish.

From Los Angeles Times

Cornelius Vanderbilt, glimpsed briefly on his way to visit Constance, disappears, presumably to resurface in the concluding three episodes; and by “concluding” I mean whatever brings us to the cliffhanger I assume is coming.

From Los Angeles Times

So like the serials of the silent era, we’re left, for the moment at least, with a cliffhanger.

From The Wall Street Journal

It started with a cliffhanger and ended with a cliffhanger.

From BBC

Related Words

• close call
• shocker