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
Harper fouled off Snell’s fourth consecutive slider to bring the count to 1-2, then the lefty bounced a curveball before firing his fifth slider in six tries.
—
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Which was a curveball on its own.
—Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Related Stories There aren’t tons of curveballs this year compared to last — remember how Beyoncé submitted eight different songs to different genre categories?
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
Not having these numbers would be curveball for the Federal Reserve, which has said it is increasingly focused on the health of the labor market.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curveball
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Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Which was a curveball on its own.
—Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Related Stories There aren’t tons of curveballs this year compared to last — remember how Beyoncé submitted eight different songs to different genre categories?
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 4 Oct. 2025
Not having these numbers would be curveball for the Federal Reserve, which has said it is increasingly focused on the health of the labor market.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curveball
Cite this Entry
“Curveball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curveball. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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