curveball

noun

curve·​ball ˈkərv-ˌbȯl 

: a slow or moderately fast baseball pitch thrown with spin to make it swerve downward and usually to the left when thrown from the right hand or to the right when thrown from the left hand

curveball verb

Examples of curveball in a Sentence

The batter struck out on a curveball.

Recent Examples on the Web

Uranus has already been throwing curveballs your way professionally, maybe leading you to switch paths, experiment with new industries, or adopt more unconventional approaches. —Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 31 Aug. 2025

Braves starter Cal Quantrill hung a 2-1 curveball that Schwarber hammered 450 feet into the second deck to cut the lead to 3-1. —Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 29 Aug. 2025

More Mulcahy/Getty Ohtani threw a career-most 23 curveballs on Wednesday, a significant indication of his return to full strength as a pitcher. —Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025

After Profar led off with a walk, Matt Olson smashed Gusto’s 79 mph curveball 426 feet to center for a 3-0 lead. —Steve Gorten, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing curveball

• throw (someone) a curve/curveball

Rhymes for curveball

• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• catarrhal
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol