February 2007
CLIFFHANGER

noun: an episode that ends in suspense
noun: a contest whose outcome is uncertain up to the very end

Rhymezone.com

Function: noun

  1. an adventure serial or melodrama; especially: one presented in installments each ending in suspense
  2. a contest whose outcome is in doubt up to the very end; broadly: a suspenseful situation

Merrium-Webster Dictionary

  1. a melodramatic adventure serial in which each installment ends in suspense in order to interest the reader or viewer in the next installment.
  2. a situation or contest of which the outcome is suspensefully uncertain up to the very last moment: The game was a cliff-hanger, but our team finally won.

[Origin: 1935–40, Americanism]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ©Random House, Inc. 2006.

  1. A melodramatic serial in which each episode ends in suspense.
  2. A suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode.
  3. A contest so closely matched that the outcome is uncertain until the end.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition: Copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company