1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

sudden death

noun

Definition of sudden deathnext
as in dead heat

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sudden death The dark comedy from director Kris Rey produced by Jurassic World filmmaker Colin Trevorrow follows a young gay man living in Chicago who returns to his hometown in Missouri following the sudden death of his hoarder father. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026 Late summer brings an increase in a deadly disease spreading in cats across South Florida, causing intense illness and even sudden death. — Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026 Not the fire, not the sudden death, not the exhausting fight to get back home. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 As William Jewell College struggles with the sudden death of a football player who collapsed on the sidelines Saturday, students have taken time to share their feelings on paper. — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sudden death
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sudden death
  1. dead heat
  2. runoff
  3. rubber
  4. round-robin
  5. volley
Noun
  • Sweden’s national election results showed nearly a dead heat early Monday between the right-wing ruling coalition and the left-wing opposition.
    — Kostya Manenkov, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Stitt has endorsed Mazzei in the runoff, but endorsements seem to carry little weight as polls show the two candidates in a dead heat.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of dead heat
Noun
  • Flood-prone roads and low-lying areas may be closed due to elevated runoff and overflowing streams, while urban areas may receive more significant flooding and property damage due to rapid runoff.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Still, when Homendy finished speaking to the media about the early investigation into Sunday’s fatal runway runoff by a 767-300 Amazon cargo plane, the media swarmed Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to ask about EMAS and MIA.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of runoff
Noun
  • In that one, Klaus Kinski’s rubber baron attempted to drag a boat over a mountain.
    — Film Editor, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Looking to win a rubber match to keep their fledgling postseason dreams alive, the Twins turned in a lackluster performance in a 9-2 rout by the Cleveland Guardians in front of 17,676 at Target Field.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of rubber
Noun
  • The Australian academic competed in breaking’s Olympic debut and went winless across her three round-robin matchups.
    — Nasha Smith, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The rebuilt Pac-12, which will feature eight teams playing a round-robin followed by a flex game to close the regular season, might have the best shot at the G6’s CFP spot.
    — Chris Vannini, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of round-robin
Noun
  • Castro scored with a volley from inside the box in the 87th minute—enough for the Argentine team to advance with a 2-1 aggregate score.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Jorrel Hato misjudged the flight of the delivery, allowing Belloumi to emphatically half-volley a shot into the bottom corner.
    — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of volley

Browse Nearby Words

sudden
sudden death
sudden deaths
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sudden death.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sudden%20death. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All