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

Should two regional hosts meet for the championship, the tiebreaker will be determined by which host sells 4,000 tickets the fastest. —Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2025

If the teams split their six games, the first tiebreaker will be run differential. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 May 2025

The tiebreaker was the second-best jump, which Powe narrowly lost. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 15 May 2025

The Mavericks won the lottery Monday night only after winning the draft-order tiebreaker over the Bulls last month. —Darnell Mayberry, New York Times, 13 May 2025

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