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

Oneil Cruz tied it on his 20th home run of the season, starting the fourth inning with a drive to center field off a curveball left hanging in the middle of the zone by Wacha. — ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026

Latz struck out Adley Rutschman and Story, who is from nearby Irving, reached down for Latz's second straight low curveball and drove the ball over the left-field wall for his fourth home run this season. — CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026

Today, with support from his adoptive family, Champ is an accomplished therapy dog who shows others how to persevere when life throws unexpected curveballs. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

And in the third inning, Pena hit a curveball to extend the Astros’ lead over the Royals. — Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2026

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
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol
• gossypol