tiebreaker

noun

tie·​break·​er ˈtī-ˌbrā-kər 

plural tiebreakers

1

: an additional contest or period of play used to select a winner when a competition or part of a competition ends in a tie

… after a 90-minute rain delay in the third set, won a riveting tiebreaker.

—L. Jon Wertheim

called also tiebreak

2

: a person whose vote breaks a tie

The vice president served as a tiebreaker in the last senate vote.

3

: a final vote, point, or score that determines the winner in a contest

She cast the tiebreaker.

Examples of tiebreaker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Heat owns the tiebreaker with Philadelphia because of a better conference record. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024

The Kings would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Pelicans and a three-way tie involving the Pelicans and Suns. —Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 10 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 3