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

Xander Bogaerts got under a curveball hung up in the zone and flied out to start the inning before Gavin Sheets grounded a single up the middle and Freddy Fermin appeared to have made the second out. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2026

But there is plenty to like in his arsenal, including a big fastball and a curveball that rates as the best in sport, according to Statcast. — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 20 July 2026

To keep a deep Philadelphia lineup off balance, Scott used his four-seam fastball for strikeouts, went to his sweeper early and often in counts, and mixed his cutter, curveball and splitter effectively. — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 17 July 2026

Another instrument, the Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter, has collected data that has thrown New Horizon’s team a curveball, Brandt said. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 16 July 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