narrow victory
Win by inches
A narrow victory is a win by a small margin—close enough that the outcome could easily have gone the other way.
The phrase appears often in elections and sports: She eked out a narrow victory by just 200 votes.
The narrowness emphasizes how precarious the triumph was, sometimes undercutting the winner's mandate or momentum.
- squeakerBarely-won contest
- too close to callUndecidable by current count
- close callDisaster narrowly averted
- nail-biterSuspensefully close competition
- photo finishRace decided by camera
neck and neck · edge · clutch · upset · underdog · comeback · buzzer-beater · overtime · heartbreaker · scrape by · clinch · decisive moment · tiebreaker · recount · swing vote · hair's breadth · skin of teeth · by a whisker
- war resultsdefeat, surrender, truce, stalemate, peace treaty
- close callsclose call, near miss, close shave, nick of time, skin of teeth
- presidencyOval Office, president, Washington, executive branch, veto
narrow victorylandslide victory
Overwhelming electoral triumph
blowout · decisive victory · rout · lopsided victory · walkover
narrow, victory, narrowly, narrower, narrowest, narrowness, narrows, narrowing, narrowed