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

Buffalo Bills: That tiebreaker over the Chiefs doesn't mean a whole heckuva lot if the Bills can't keep pace with the two-time reigning champs. —Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 9 Dec. 2024

Seattle’s win over the Cardinals Sunday leaves the Seahawks with a two-game lead (and a tiebreaker) with four games to play. —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 8 Dec. 2024

The Knicks would be eliminated with a loss because the would lose a tiebreaker with Boston. —Jack Magruder, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024

This year, with coach Greg Vanney starting nine players signed by Kuntz, the team matched modern-era bests with 19 wins and 69 goals, missing its first regular-season conference title since 2011 on a tiebreaker. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 3