match point
Americannoun
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(in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) the point that if won would enable the scorer or the scorer's side to win the match.
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Duplicate Bridge. a scoring unit consisting of one point awarded to a partnership for each opposing partnership whose score they better on a hand and of one-half point for each opposing partnership whose score they equal.
noun
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sport the final point needed to win a match
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bridge the unit used for scoring in tournaments
Etymology
Origin of match point
First recorded in 1920–25
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.
On court, Noskova had to fight back from match point down in her third-round encounter against Romania's Sorana Cirstea.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
But Muchova dusted herself down to fight again, bringing up her second match point by sending Gauff wide before slamming home an inside-out forehand winner into the corner.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
"Honestly, it was such a big fight. It was a rollercoaster - match point and then match point down. You don't have time to think."
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
After receiving a warning for a time violation, a frustrated Muchova lofted a backhand beyond the baseline and gifted Gauff the first match point.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Citra watched, feeling almost detached, as if this were a tennis match and it was match point.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
