curveball

noun

curve·​ball ˈkərv-ˌbȯl How to pronounce curveball (audio)
: a slow or moderately fast baseball pitch thrown with spin to make it swerve downward and usually to the left when thrown from the right hand or to the right when thrown from the left hand
curveball verb

Examples of curveball in a Sentence

The batter struck out on a curveball.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
His average fastball velocity dipped from 101.8 mph in 2023 to 100.5 mph last season and his curveball dropped from 87.7 mph to 86.1 mph, according to Baseball Savant. Dan Hayes, The Athletic, 14 Feb. 2025 Megill worked on a curveball over the winter and had good results with it Friday. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 14 Feb. 2025 With a mid-to-high 90s fastball plus a slider, changeup and curveball, a solid spring training performance could help Dollander skip Triple-A and land on the opening-day roster. Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2025 Bob Dylan has returned to his favorite social-media cesspool of choice, X, not to review a trio of SNL curveballs from a certain young admirer but to instead memorialize a recently deceased friend and collaborator. Devon Ivie, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for curveball

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of curveball was in 1936

Browse Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

“Curveball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curveball. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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