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

Although regions may use different criteria, in the simulation, all standings were determined by 1) region record, 2) head-to-head results, 3) point differential, 4) classification record, and 5) random tiebreaker. — Loren Maxwell, AJC.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Chicago now owns the tiebreaker with a 2-1 season series record and is as many games behind the Mystics, dropping the Sparks further down in the standings. — Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Malawi lost its final group match to Zambia 2-1 on Wednesday, but secured the group win with six points and a head-to-head tiebreaker over Nigeria, who also qualified for the knockouts. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026

Matches now consist of four-game sets prior to the final, no-ad scoring and a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of a third set. — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 5 Aug. 2026

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