Phrase guide

close only counts in horseshoes

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

Coming close to achieving a goal is not good enough.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: a miss is as good as a mile, nearly never bulled a cow

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Referring to the game of horseshoes.