grandstand finish

British

noun

a close or exciting ending to a sports match or competition

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Lawrence Shankland cut the arrears 15 minutes from time before Cammy Devlin set up a grandstand finish.

From Barron's • Dec. 27, 2025

Tigers still had something in the tank and Emeka Ilione's score five minutes from time set up a grandstand finish but Bath held on.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025

Fire responded to give a crowd of 22,009 - a record for a women’s match in The Hundred – a grandstand finish before Deepti seized her moment.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2024

Sarries hit back after the break through Alex Lewington before Lucio Cinti's 79th-minute try set up a grandstand finish but the visitors were denied.

From BBC • May 31, 2024

How Clarkville School and football develop Shorty's real character and how he eventually stars on the gridiron brings this thrilling tale of school life and football to a grandstand finish.

From Baseball Joe in the Big League or, A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles by Chadwick, Lester

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023