margin of victory
Final score difference
The margin of victory is the difference between the winner's final count and that of the runner-up in a competition or election.
A narrow margin of victory suggests the contest was close, while a wide margin indicates dominance.
The phrase appears most often in political coverage and sports reporting, where the size of the margin carries interpretive weight—a landslide versus a squeaker tells different stories about mandate or momentum.
- tie-breakersMeans of resolving draws
- point spreadWagering handicap between teams
- vote countTotal of ballots recorded
- blowoutSudden tire failure
- championship titlesAwards for ultimate victory
winning streaks · competitive mindset · landslide · by a landslide · runaway · razor-thin · risk management · electoral mandate · winning percentage
- race datalap time, fastest lap, split time, finish time, qualifying time
- sports metricstime trial, lap time, split time, finish time, personal best
- electionsballot, ballots, voter registration, candidates, polls
- scoresscore, points, scores, point, high score
- election disputescontested results, recount, recounts, vote recount, vote recounts
margin of victorydead heat
Tied competition result
tie · draw · photo finish · too close to call · stalemate
margin of victorytie
Equal score, or neckwear
draw · parity · equality · even score
margin, margins, marginal, marginally, marginalize, marginalized, marginalization, victory, victories