tiebreaker

noun

tie·break·er | \ˈtī-ˌbrā-kər

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

Many of the best points came in the tiebreaker, including a 23-shot rally that Nadal finished off with a forehand half-volley drop shot to set up his first set point. — Mattias Karen, chicagotribune.com, "Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal to finish their Wimbledon semifinal Saturday," 13 July 2018 Anderson served for the third at 5-3, got broken, then had a pair of set points in that tiebreaker, double-faulting one away. — Howard Fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, "Kevin Anderson outlasts John Isner in second-longest match in Wimbledon history," 13 July 2018 The two returned today, and the Argentine needed a tiebreaker (and five match points) but eventually closed out the match 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (5). — Jon Wertheim, SI.com, "Five Thoughts From Four Women's Quarterfinals at Wimbledon," 10 July 2018 Hannah Bjorkman and Kristin Butler won the girls doubles bracket, defeating twin sisters Devon and Taylor Yagmaie of Stamford 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (10-8 tiebreaker). — Joe Burns, courant.com, "Somers Rallies Against Eagles, Chance for Three-Peat In Class S," 6 June 2018 Had the teams finished with the same number of points, Kalamazoo had the tiebreaker (most wins, minus shootout victories). — Lewis Bagley, Indianapolis Star, "Indy Fuel earn their first ECHL playoff berth in 4th season," 8 Apr. 2018 Clint Laye also scored 86 points on Unfortunate Karma to advance with Feild, who won the round on a tiebreaker. — Jason Mcdaniel, Houston Chronicle, "Saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston advances to RodeoHouston finals," 16 Mar. 2018 Senegal became the first team to ever be eliminated from the World Cup on the fair play tiebreaker rule after the team lost to Colombia 1–0 on Thursday. — SI.com, "Senegal Eliminated From World Cup, Loses Fair Play Tiebreaker to Japan," 28 June 2018 Utah, Minnesota and Denver would all beat New Orleans in tiebreaker scenarios. — William Guillory, NOLA.com, "Pelicans are in the playoffs: Here's everything you need to know," 10 Apr. 2018

These 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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Last Updated

11 Nov 2018

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Time Traveler for tiebreaker

The first known use of tiebreaker was circa 1932

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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

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