down to the wire

Idioms  

1. To the last minute; to the very end. For example, We're just about down to the wire with this project. This term comes from horseracing, where it was long the practice to stretch a wire across and above the track at the finish line. It was extended to figurative use about 1900.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

down to the wire

If the battle does go down to the wire on 24 May, both teams have home games, with Tottenham welcoming Everton and West Ham facing Leeds.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

Even down to the wire, many people can still quickly gather the needed paperwork, Steber said.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

It similarly went right down to the wire.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

‘Sinners’ or ‘One Battle After Another’? With plenty of categories coming down to the wire, our awards columnist makes his final Oscar predictions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026

Our second game came right down to the wire, but by the end of it, I’d spotted a pattern to the lich’s playing technique.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline