neck and neck
Very close in progress, as in a race or a contest.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The two runners are neck and neck near the finish line.”
“The two chess players are neck and neck as the clock runs out.”
“The two candidates are neck and neck in the polls, so the final debate will likely decide the election.”
“Both companies are neck and neck to release their new smartphone first, so the engineers are working overtime this weekend.”
“Throughout the final quarter of the championship game, the rival teams remained neck and neck, neither willing to concede an inch of ground to the other.”
Derived from the imagery of 19th-century horse racing, the term describes two or more competitors so evenly matched that their necks appear side-by-side as they approach the finish. The phrasing was firmly established in English sporting terminology by the 1830s to denote a race resulting in, or heading toward, a dead heat. The visual requirement for the idiom is literal; the horses must be sufficiently abreast that their relative positions cannot be distinguished by their anatomical extension.
- 01
albatross around one's neck
A characteristic, possession, associate, or previous deed that hinders one's ability to succeed.
- 02
albatross round one's neck
Alternative form of albatross around one's neck.
- 03
brass neck
Gall, shamelessness, cheek.
- 04
break one's neck
To make extraordinary efforts to achieve an end; to exert oneself in pursuit of a goal.
- 05
breathe down someone's neck
To follow or supervise someone too closely, causing discomfort for that person.
- 06
checkup from the neck up
The analysis of one's own thoughts or beliefs with a view to reforming oneself.
- 07
fall on someone's neck
To embrace someone affectionately or thankfully.
- 08
Gregory
[Cockney slang]neck, or cheque
Last updated August 10, 2026