How to Use striking distance in a Sentence

striking distance

noun
  • The snake was within striking distance.
  • Biden leads or is in striking distance of Trump in those states.
    — Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2020
  • Kang had to rally to make three pars on the way in to keep within striking distance of Ko.
    — Jeff Babineau, ajc, 29 Jan. 2022
  • But the Texas defense made enough plays to keep within striking distance.
    — Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, 31 Oct. 2020
  • The Huskies’ defense kept this game within striking distance.
    — Shreyas Laddha, courant.com, 1 Feb. 2022
  • Smith hit two shots late in OT to keep Auburn within striking distance.
    — al, 8 Feb. 2022
  • For most of the night, the Detroit Pistons were in striking distance.
    — Omari Sankofa Ii, Detroit Free Press, 1 Apr. 2022
  • Schweizer and Cranny stayed within striking distance for much of the way.
    — Ken Goe For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 23 July 2022
  • Still, the Fever were within striking distance until midway through the fourth.
    — Alexa Philippou, courant.com, 18 Aug. 2020
  • Vawter hit 6-of-7 3-pointers in the game to keep her team within striking distance the rest of the way.
    — Tom Moor, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Feb. 2022
  • The sophomore made a handful of huge saves over the course of the game to keep Guyer within striking distance.
    — Greg Riddle, Dallas News, 26 Mar. 2021
  • Murray, meanwhile, shook off a lackluster first half in time to keep the Spurs in striking distance.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Nov. 2021
  • McNamara opened the half by marching his team down the field within striking distance of the end zone.
    — Laine Higgins, WSJ, 1 Jan. 2022
  • The numbers that have been shared with me from some other private polls show the race within striking distance for Antone.
    — Fox News, 11 Aug. 2020
  • Try Reaves, who hit two 3s and scored 15 points that kept the Lakers within striking distance.
    — Dan Gelston, ajc, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Now the second-youngest team at the tournament — with an average age of 26 — is in striking distance of the final.
    — Andrew Keh, New York Times, 8 July 2018
  • Billboard points out that Bad Bunny is within striking distance of a record on the album chart, or at least a recent record.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 10 Oct. 2022
  • The quarterback hit Damiere Byrd for a gain of 23 to push the Pats to within striking distance.
    — Mark Daniels, USA TODAY, 28 Sep. 2020
  • Austria was in striking distance trailing by one goal until the final moments, when Messi scored his second goal.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 June 2026
  • Both teams are also trailing the Eagles for the division lead and this game has a chance to bring one within striking distance of Philly.
    — Ian Firstenberg, Chicago Tribune, 24 Nov. 2022
  • That combination puts Democrats in striking distance of the Speaker’s gavel.
    — Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 25 Aug. 2025
  • Nest, who stumbled at the gate, was in striking distance while Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike was stuck at the back.
    — John Cherwaspecial Contributor, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2022
  • The first of those came in the third quarter after ASU had gotten in striking distance at 17-10.
    — Michelle Gardner, The Arizona Republic, 7 Dec. 2020
  • Recent polling shows Cox competing for the second spot in the run-up to the June primary, and some polls show Allen in striking distance.
    — Phil Willon, latimes.com, 7 May 2018
  • The Raiders are 4-3, within striking distance of the AFC’s final playoff slot.
    — Emmanuel Morgan Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2020
  • Yet the Cowboys remained within striking distance of an upset for most of the game Sunday mostly because of the play of Wentz.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 2 Nov. 2020
  • Gray's ability to get to the line and convert kept Atlanta within striking distance throughout a game that could have spiraled out of control multiple times.
    — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 10 May 2026
  • Stocks managed to claw back some of the declines by the end of the week, putting the S&P 500 within striking distance of yet another record.
    — Caitlin McCabe, WSJ, 16 May 2021
  • Randle hovered around 40% the whole year and cracked 42% last week, which put him within striking distance of the latest unthinkable turn of events in a year full of them.
    — Ben Cohen, WSJ, 4 May 2021
  • Up 20-17, with the Jaguars within striking distance, the Chiefs had second-and-goal from the Jacksonville six-yard-line.
    — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 22 Jan. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'striking distance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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