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

In the fight game, substitute opponents are often unwelcome curveballs and exhaustion is both common and expected after the focus of a big bout. — Oskar Garcia, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

With the rain coming down again, Miller lost control of a curveball and hit Dylan Crews to bring in a run. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026

In another curveball, Gilbertson is also facing the loss of his contract to run dockside rail operations at Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together form North America’s busiest port complex. — John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

His four seam fastball has a unique shape and gets up to 99 mph with plus command, and that pairs well with his great curveball, good change-up, and strong cutter. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 31 Aug. 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