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

South Korea, Australia and Taiwan all had identical records, and South Korea needed to beat Australia by five runs or more to advance based on a tiebreaker of fewest runs allowed divided by defensive outs. —Dallas Morning News, 10 Mar. 2026

Cedar Ridge needs to beat Manor in their final district match; if Cedar Ridge loses, then Hutto would need to win twice since Cedar Ridge swept the Hippos this season and hold the tiebreaker. —Butch Hart, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026

With the win and a tiebreaker against Denver, the Lakers moved into fifth in the Western Conference. —Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026

But Australia has, thus far, not allowed a run in the round robin runs allowed tiebreaker, by virtue of shutting out Chinese Taipei to start the tournament. —Maria Torres, New York Times, 8 Mar. 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