How to Use nail-biter in a Sentence

nail-biter

noun
  • Each was a nail-biter that kept viewers on the edge of their seats.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 30 Jan. 2025
  • The Texans lost a nail-biter against the Packers 24-22.
    — Shafaq Patel, Axios, 21 Oct. 2024
  • This year is shaping up to be a nail-biter for Ukraine.
    — Astha Rajvanshi, NBC News, 1 Jan. 2025
  • This is a rare nail-biter for SDNY – far from a slam-dunk.
    — Tracy Wright , Lauryn Overhultz , Maria Paronich , Brendan McDonald, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025
  • What was once a three-games-to-one rout has become a three-games-to-two nail-biter.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2023
  • The fourth rotation was a nail-biter for both fan bases.
    — Henry Chappell, Kansas City Star, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Once Dublin heated up, the game turned into a nail-biter.
    — Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2024
  • The Supreme Court chose the winner of the 2000 election, which came down to a nail-biter in Florida.
    — Lavanya Ramanathan, Vox, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The Rays pulled out a tight one after dropping 1-0 and 2-1 nail-biters, and dodged their first sweep of the season.
    — Andrew Seligman, BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2023
  • Bailey hears that theme from consumers who just aren’t in the mood for any more nail-biters.
    — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2025
  • What began as a blowout — KU led by 22 in the second half — turned into a nail-biter late.
    — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
  • That the game turned into a nail-biter in the final five minutes shouldn’t have come as a surprise.
    — Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 15 Jan. 2024
  • Once the second half started, Marshfield tried to grind the game back into a nail-biter.
    — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Their lone defeat came in a Week 3 nail-biter to Columbine when the Rebels hit the game-winning field goal with 12 seconds left.
    — Matt Schubert, The Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2024
  • The outcomes ranged from nail-biters to decisive blowouts.
    — Giovanni Malloy, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
  • But her 2024 election to the Senate was, if possible, even more of a nail-biter.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2025
  • But her 2024 election to the Senate was, if possible, even more of a nail-biter.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Held in Rod Laver Arena, the final was a nail-biter, but in the third set, Keys hit a forehand winner that sealed the deal.
    — Caroline Tien, SELF, 29 Jan. 2025
  • At a time when the GOP’s statewide electoral prospects in California were not quite so dim, the race was a nail-biter.
    — Cleve R. Wootson Jr., Washington Post, 22 July 2024
  • Locked in a nail-biter with just under two minutes to play, Taylor opted to heave a shot for the end zone.
    — Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 19 July 2025
  • Taylor appeared nervous in her suite during the nail-biter of a game.
    — Marina Watts, People.com, 27 Jan. 2025
  • For the Bengals, the Ravens matchup has been a tough one: Cincinnati has lost each of the past three games, including last year’s nail-biter, 35-34.
    — Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 27 May 2025
  • Not every movie needs to be a nail-biter, and not every plot needs to be engineered like a Maserati.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2025
  • The game that ended 71-69 was a nail-biter with a one-point margin until the final seconds.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 6 Apr. 2024
  • While UConn got to this stage with a nail-biter, the other three teams haven’t really been tested yet in the tournament.
    — Josh Dubow, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026
  • While UConn got to this stage with a nail-biter, the other three teams haven't really been tested yet in the tournament.
    — ABC News, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Ole Miss gave us another nail-biter.
    — Tim Rohan, NBC news, 23 Mar. 2026
  • There's been thrillers, nail-biters, and a couple of upsets in the men's tournament.
    — Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 20 Mar. 2026
  • The Best Actor race was a nail-biter right down to the final seconds.
    — Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2026
  • But winning fewer than 40% of those nail-biters is the stuff that can become a habit.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nail-biter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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