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Glite Dictionary
⏱️ A close result 🔊 A noise maker
squeaker

squeaker

4 7.8
A result decided by a very small difference
  • noun
  • /ˈskwiːkər/
  • Informal
translation icon : victoria ajustada
  • The basketball game was a real squeaker, with the final score determined by just one point.
  • win in a squeaker
  • squeaker election

Examples

  • My hunch at this point is that Obama has a very good chance to win, but it could be a squeaker, cobbling together just enough of his 2008 electoral coalition to go over the top.

    Blog text (3)

  • But he is certainly losing style points by barely beating Santorum in states like Michigan and Ohio—akin, as we've said before, to a top-ranked college football team winning a squeaker against an unranked opponent.

    Blog text (12)

  • That election should not have been a squeaker.

    Blog text (6)

  • Nearly everyone expects a squeaker.

    Blog text (16)

  • Tiger Cats won a squeaker against Ottawa... ...in 23 to 22 by a field goal with three seconds... ...on the clock.

    Owning Mahowny (2003)

  • After the election, he noted that Obama won a squeaker of an election with a mere 332 votes.

    Blog text (28)

  • The Consolidated East girls' basketball team had won the tri-county championship in a squeaker last Friday.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • I do think it will be either a blowout or a squeaker, but it could be a squeaker for either party, although I think Obama has the edge if it's a squeaker.

    Blog text (11)

  • I am still sticking to my prediction that Obama's wins will be a real squeaker, almost a replay of 2004.

    Blog text (13)

  • (The one exception in that span: a 27-21 squeaker against Vanderbilt, in overtime, one week before the Vols were doomed to another losing record by their first loss to Kentucky in like a thousand years.)

    Blog text (30)

Synonyms

close call
vssqueaker
  • Informal
43 3.7

A situation when something bad almost happens but is avoided

applies to results or achievements decided by narrow margins instead of danger avoidance
narrow escape
vssqueaker
  • Informal
4 3.1

A situation in which someone just avoids danger or a bad result

is used for events or results decided by small margins not for personal near misses
close shave
vssqueaker
  • Informal
3 3.9

A situation where you almost have something bad happen

refers to tightly decided events or achievements rather than personal danger avoidance
squeak
vssqueaker
  • Informal
1 5.3

A very close success or escape by a small margin

focuses on outcomes decided narrowly rather than on escapes

How Close

squeaker
  • Informal
4 7.8
photo finish
  • Literature
4 4.2
to come down to the wire
  • Informal
5 5.9
nail-biter
  • Informal
7 5.2
comfortable
8 3.4
to landslide
  • Literature
1 4.3

Surface Forms

squeaker singular
squeakers plural

Morphology

squeaker = squeak (semi-transparent) = squeak + er

The sense 'a close contest' is a metaphorical extension from the idea of narrowly 'squeaking' past something; the derivation is regular but the specific idiomatic meaning requires exposure.

Etymology

The word squeaker also means a result decided by a very small margin. It comes from the tiny sound squeak, and a helpful way to remember it is to imagine the result just 'squeaking' through, so a squeaker is a close call.