DEAD HEAT Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

dead heat

noun

a race in which two or more competitors finish in a tie.
the result of such a race; tie.

dead heat

noun

1. a race or contest in which two or more participants tie for first place
2. a tie between two or more contestants in any position

Discover More

�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of dead heat¹

First recorded in 1790–1800

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

A contest in which the competitors are equally matched and neither can win; a tie. For example, The two companies are in a dead heat to get a new personal computer on the market . This term comes from 18th-century British horse racing and is still part of racing terminology. It later was transferred to other kinds of competition.

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The Pembrokeshire brothers had to share the spoils at Cheltenham in December after a dead heat was recorded between their horses.

From

By election day, the contest was a dead heat.

From

Options were limited: the state’s Election Code says that a race ending in a dead heat can be decided by a special runoff election or “by lot.”

From

It had consistently shown Trump leading since his September debate with Harris, and it ultimately proved more accurate than conventional polling methods that showed the race in a dead heat.

From

Looking at all the dead heat numbers down the home stretch of the election, I was never optimistic that the country would unite to block the second coming of Trump.

From

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse