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
But every once in a while, nature throws a curveball, like what happened to Massachusetts astrophotographer Erica Kahn, who wound up with a bat in her mouth during a stargazing session at Horseshoe Bend in northern Arizona.
—
Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 7 Aug. 2025
His splitter, four-seam fastball, curveball and sweeper are all above league average in terms of velocity.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
From there, Wentz was electric with his three-pitch mix of a cutter, four-seam fastball and curveball.
—Kansas City Star, 31 July 2025
Meanwhile, state and district leaders scrambled to adjust to another curveball: the withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education funds for the 2025-26 school year.
—Sara Schapiro, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for curveball
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Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 7 Aug. 2025
His splitter, four-seam fastball, curveball and sweeper are all above league average in terms of velocity.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
From there, Wentz was electric with his three-pitch mix of a cutter, four-seam fastball and curveball.
—Kansas City Star, 31 July 2025
Meanwhile, state and district leaders scrambled to adjust to another curveball: the withholding of nearly $7 billion in federal education funds for the 2025-26 school year.
—Sara Schapiro, Forbes.com, 30 July 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 20 Aug. 2025.
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