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

The Golden Boot race Messi and Mbappé have both scored eight goals, though Mbappé holds the tiebreaker with three assists to Messi's two. — Becky Sullivan, NPR, 14 July 2026

Mbappé, who is tied with Argentina great Lionel Messi with a tournament-high eight goals and leads the race for the Golden Boot on the assist tiebreaker, still has the third-place match to add to his tally. — Stephen Hawkins, AJC.com, 14 July 2026

Zverev won the tiebreaker at love and then won 10 consecutive points in the second set en route to a 3-1 lead. — Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Unbeaten Egypt also finished second in its group, on a goal-differential tiebreaker. — Los Angeles Times, 3 July 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