in a dead heat
in a dead heat
In a tie, as of evenly matched opponents in a competition. Their race times have been so close lately that I bet they'll be in a dead heat the whole time. Maddie and Megan finished the race in a dead heat, so we'll have to declare two winners.
See also: dead, heat
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
in a dead heat
Fig. [finishing a race] at exactly the same time; tied. The two horses finished the race in a dead heat. They ended the contest in a dead heat.
See also: dead, heat
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
dead heat, in a
Tied for first place. The term comes from horse-racing, in which “heat” used to mean simply a race (today its meaning is a bit more specific). It was in use by the late eighteenth century (“The whole race was run head and head, terminating in a dead heat,” Sporting Magazine, 1796). It later was applied to any contest in which there was a tie.
See also: dead
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- dead heat
- dead heat, in a
- anyone's/anybody's call
- be anyone's/anybody's call
- it's anyone's/anybody's call
- be taken up with (someone or something)
- trade blows
- a dead cat on the line
- split in
- split in (number or fraction)