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

Matt Olson and Dubón managed hits on curveballs that were about to hit the dirt, bringing across the first run. — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Abreu hit a leadoff double and advanced on a fly out before Ekness threw a curveball to the backstop. — CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026

One of the best elements about a Draft Mode is that players can break the game or toss opponents an unexpected curveball. — Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 24 Aug. 2026

This curveball makes for some startling imagery, but doesn’t emerge from any particular circumstance of this dystopian scenario, and doesn’t illuminate anything about it either. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 20 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