Meaning & use

touch-and-go

adjective·Advanced

Describing a risky or uncertain situation whose outcome could go either way at any moment.

See it in a sentence

The patient's condition was touch-and-go for two days after the surgery.

It was touch-and-go whether the team would finish the bridge before the deadline.

A note on using this word

Touch-and-go is almost always used predicatively, after a linking verb like 'be' or 'seem,' rather than directly before a noun.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

stablesecure

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “touch-and-go”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.