nip and tuck

Cultural  

1. Closely contested; neck and neck: “It was nip and tuck there for a while, but our team finally pulled through.”

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nip and tuck Idioms  

1. Very close so that the advantage or lead of competitors keeps shifting, as in It was nip and tuck whether they would deal with the bill before Congress adjourned. The precise allusion in this term has been lost. [Early 1800s] Also see neck and neck.

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Example Sentences

It's nip and tuck between Gordon and Angus Gunn for a starting place against Haiti on Saturday.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

“We’ve been nip and tuck on some things, but we’ve always had the same interest and same goal in mind, and that’s winning,” Millsap said at that time of Snyder.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2021

All of this year’s iPhones had a little nip and tuck along the edges.

From Washington Post • Oct. 14, 2020

Time passes, and even a contemporary classic can use a nip and tuck.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2019

The wind was shifting toward the west and abeam, and he knew that it would be nip and tuck if he were to gain the open waters of Baffin Bay.

From The Ice Pilot by Leverage, Henry