photo finish
Americannoun
noun
-
a finish of a race in which contestants are so close that a photograph is needed to decide the result
-
any race or competition in which the winners or placed contestants are separated by a very small margin
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of photo finish
First recorded in 1935–40
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.
American Nathan Martin won the contest in a photo finish, tracking down Michael Kimani Kamau of Kenya to edge him on his final strides, winning by 00.01 seconds.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
So it likely comes down to these two, and the stakes are chillingly high for such a photo finish.
From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2026
Their ticket purchases pushed “Iron Lung” into a photo finish for No. 1 against “Send Help,” a strongly marketed release from Disney’s 20th Century Studios.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
Redknapp and Pauling as well as jockey Ben Jones spent a nervy few miniutes waiting on the photo finish before his number eight was called -- winning by just a nose.
From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025
Incredibly, Woolf’s timing was so good that he rode for more than a decade before he was beaten in a photo finish of a stakes race.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
