tiebreaker
noun
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Definition of tiebreaker
: an additional contest or period of play used to select a winner when a competition ends in a tie
Examples of tiebreaker in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The third-set tiebreaker was tied at 7-7 and 8-8 before Borders won the final two points for the victory. — Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, "Borders avoids upset, wins fifth straight Sixth Region tennis title," 10 May 2018 That would leave both Miami and Washington at 43-39, with the Heat holding the tiebreaker. — Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Closing night has 76ers, Celtics, Raptors as possible Heat playoff opponents," 11 Apr. 2018 The Crusaders hold the head-to-head tiebreaker on fourth-place Tompkins (6-5-1), which holds a slim lead on Morton Ranch entering the final week. — Jack Marrion, Houston Chronicle, "Seven Lakes boys take district lead into break," 12 Mar. 2018 Both teams also beat Purdue in their lone meeting, meaning MSU owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State's Tom Izzo defers to John Engler’s comments on ESPN report," 17 Feb. 2018 The United States Open is the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments that uses a tiebreaker in the final set of singles matches. — Christopher Clarey, New York Times, "Wimbledon: After Many, Many Hours, Kevin Anderson Beats John Isner in the Semifinals," 13 July 2018 And because McConnell’s Republicans hold a 51-49 Senate advantage and the tiebreaker in Vice President Mike Pence, Democrats have almost no hope of defeating a nominee in a straight-up vote. — John Wildermuth, SFChronicle.com, "Will Dems ‘gum up the works’ to try to block a Trump Supreme Court pick?," 28 June 2018 Both teams currently have three goals for, which is the next tiebreaker. — Ben Ladner, SI.com, "World Cup 2018: Advancing Scenarios For Each Group," 24 June 2018 Sophomore Caden Fioroni shot a 5-over-par 77 for a one-shot difference in the tiebreaker, enabling Torrey Pines to prevail over defending champion Palm Desert at Brookside Golf Club Course No. 1 adjacent to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. — Glae Thien, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Torrey Pines wins SoCal Regional boys golf championship," 24 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tiebreaker.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tiebreaker
tiebreaker
noun
English Language Learners Definition of tiebreaker
: something (such as an extra period of play or an extra question) that is used to decide a winner when a game, contest, etc., has ended with a tied score
See the full definition for tiebreaker in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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