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

Since the Mets own the tiebreaker, the Giants are technically three games behind the Mets. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025

The Royals need to win the next three to clinch the season series with Cleveland and hold the potential tiebreaker. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2025

The Jays still lead the East by two games with the tiebreaker in hand, but the division is closer than it’s been in nearly two months. —Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

After being on the wrong end of a three-way playoff tiebreaker in 2023 with a 7-3 record, the Blue Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since the 2013 season. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 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