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

That was until his fourth pitch in the eighth, a curveball Stewart hammered down the third-base line for an RBI double and a 3-1 Reds lead that would end up being the difference in the game. — C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 6 July 2026

Amid all the speculation surrounding Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's July 3 wedding, the couple managed to throw a curveball not many people saw coming, having actor and comedian Adam Sandler officiate their Madison Square Garden ceremony. — ABC News, 4 July 2026

Chourio features an upper-90s fastball, a sharp curveball and a kick-changeup. — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026

Kai-Wei Teng then hung a 1-2 curveball to Kerry Carpenter, who launched it over the right-field fence for his third career grand slam. — CBS News, 27 June 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