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
L. Jon Wertheimcalled 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 Heat owns the tiebreaker with Philadelphia because of a better conference record.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
The Kings would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Pelicans and a three-way tie involving the Pelicans and Suns.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 10 Apr. 2024
Well, the Lakers (45-35) are in ninth place but lost a big game Tuesday night to 10th-place Golden State (44-35), the Warriors grabbing the head-to-head tiebreaker.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
The win also gives the Warriors the tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The tiebreaker situation won’t be friendly for them, either.
—Shane Young, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
And by virtue of their 3-1 head-to-head record against the Lakers, the Warriors own the tiebreaker.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
With the Knicks holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Heat, Miami needs to finish with fewer losses to pass New York in almost every scenario.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2024
And while Minnesota still owns the tiebreaker, the lack of breathing room in the standings looms large with the Wolves and Nuggets set to square off Wednesday in Denver.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2024
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
The Kings would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Pelicans and a three-way tie involving the Pelicans and Suns.
—Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 10 Apr. 2024
Well, the Lakers (45-35) are in ninth place but lost a big game Tuesday night to 10th-place Golden State (44-35), the Warriors grabbing the head-to-head tiebreaker.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
The win also gives the Warriors the tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2024
The tiebreaker situation won’t be friendly for them, either.
—Shane Young, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
And by virtue of their 3-1 head-to-head record against the Lakers, the Warriors own the tiebreaker.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
With the Knicks holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Heat, Miami needs to finish with fewer losses to pass New York in almost every scenario.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2024
And while Minnesota still owns the tiebreaker, the lack of breathing room in the standings looms large with the Wolves and Nuggets set to square off Wednesday in Denver.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 6 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tiebreaker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tiebreaker
Cite this Entry
“Tiebreaker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiebreaker. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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