Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Extremely close and competitive, with an uncertain outcome: Describes a situation, especially a race or contest, where the participants are so close that the winner is difficult to predict until the very end.

2. Adverb:

   • In a very close and even manner: Describes the way in which two or more competitors are performing, being nearly equal and side-by-side.

3. Noun:

   • A cosmetic surgical procedure to reduce signs of facial aging: A specific type of operation where facial skin is tightened, commonly known as a facelift. (Note: This is a distinct, idiomatic usage.)

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The basketball game was nip and tuck until the final buzzer.
  • It was a nip and tuck race for the championship.

• Adverb:

  • The two cyclists raced nip and tuck for the last ten miles.
  • The candidates are running nip and tuck in the latest polls.

• Noun:

  • She considered getting a nip and tuck to look younger.
  • The celebrity's youthful appearance was rumored to be the result of a nip and tuck.

Advanced Usage

• The adjectival and adverbial forms are often used interchangeably with the phrase "neck and neck."
• As a noun, it is an informal, slightly euphemistic term for a facelift (rhytidectomy).

Variants and Related Words

• Neck and neck (adj/adv): A direct synonym for the competitive senses of "nip and tuck."
• Facelift (n): The more common, formal term for the cosmetic surgery procedure.
• Photo finish (n): A result in a race so close it must be determined by a photograph, often the outcome of a nip and tuck contest.

Synonyms

• Adjective/Adverb: Tied, even, close, deadlocked, level.
• Noun: Rhytidectomy, cosmetic surgery, facelift.

Related Idioms

• Too close to call: An idiom with a very similar meaning to the adjectival form of "nip and tuck," describing an undecided competition.
• A close shave: While often about a narrow escape from danger, it can conceptually relate to the "closeness" implied by "nip and tuck."

Adjective

1. inconclusive as to outcome; close or just even in a race or comparison or competition
   • as they approached the finish line they were neck and neck
   • the election was a nip and tuck affair

Adverb

1. even or close in a race or competition or comparison
   • the horses ran neck and neck
   • he won nip and tuck

Noun

1. plastic surgery to remove wrinkles and other signs of aging from your face; an incision is made near the hair line and skin is pulled back and excess tissue is excised
   • some actresses have more than one face lift