Synonyms

photo finish

American

noun

Sports.

a finish of a race in which two or more contestants are so close to the finish line that reference to a photograph of the finish is necessary to determine the winner.

photo finish British

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

"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

Other Word Forms

photo-finish

adjective

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.

When it comes to picking the best S&P 500 index fund, the results are bound to be a photo finish.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 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

Their passer ratings were a photo finish: Stafford at 127.6 and Darnold at 127.8.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

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