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.
It’s reasonable to believe that the moment he knocked home match point for major No. 25 the word “Retirement” would appear before him in gigantic flashing letters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Wendelken, who has never contested the main draw at an overseas major, saved a match point to come through a three-hour tussle with Switzerland's Remy Bertola.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 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
"I just feel so bad for Coco because she kept fighting, fighting, fighting and finally gets to the match point and then didn't get it," Navratilova said.
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.
