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

Random drawing if two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers What’s at Stake? —Brian Sampson, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024

The Seahawks currently lead the division having gotten the favorable tiebreaker thanks to their Week 12 home victory over the Cardinals. —Ben Morse, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024

Army hopes to stay above Tulane in those rankings in case they’re needed as a tiebreaker to determine which team hosts the AAC championship game. —Brian Mahoney, Chicago Tribune, 24 Nov. 2024

Assuming 53 Republicans, support from 50 of them plus Vance as a tiebreaker would be sufficient to confirm. —Tia Yang, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 3