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

Despite having the worst overall record of those five schools at 7-5, Duke somehow triumphed in a Byzantine tiebreaker system that’s harder to explain than calculus. —Charlotte Observer, 3 Dec. 2025

Currently, Baltimore holds the tiebreaker over the Steelers due to having a better win percentage in common games. —Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025

Jacksonville beat the Chiefs and would have a tiebreaker on KC. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 1 Dec. 2025

The Steelers and Ravens are both 6-6, with Baltimore holding the division lead due to tiebreakers. —Mike Defabo, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tiebreaker

• blackacre
• caretaker
• clockmaker
• dressmaker
• filmmaker
• homemaker
• icebreaker
• lawmaker
• matchmaker
• pacemaker
• partaker
• peacemaker