tiebreaker

noun

tie·​break·​er ˈtī-ˌbrā-kər 

plural tiebreakers

1

: an additional contest or period of play used to select a winner when a competition or part of a competition ends in a tie

… after a 90-minute rain delay in the third set, won a riveting tiebreaker.

—L. Jon Wertheim

called also tiebreak

2

: a person whose vote breaks a tie

The vice president served as a tiebreaker in the last Senate vote.

3

: a final vote, point, or score that determines the winner in a contest

She cast the tiebreaker.

Examples of tiebreaker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s when the NBA held its tiebreaker drawing in Secaucus. —Mike Vorkunov, New York Times, 11 May 2026

When a new customer is deciding between two similar products, the design can be a tiebreaker. —Shep Hyken, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026

Utah won the tiebreaker to secure the fourth-best odds in the lottery, leaving Sacramento with the fifth-best odds. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 10 May 2026

Technically, the Wave are tied with the Washington Spirit on points, but Washington owns the tiebreaker with a plus-8 goal differential compared to San Diego’s plus-3. —Fernando Ramirez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tiebreaker

• blackacre
• caretaker
• clockmaker
• dressmaker
• filmmaker
• homemaker
• icebreaker
• lawmaker
• matchmaker
• pacemaker
• partaker
• peacemaker