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

With the teams separated into a pair of ties, the results of their three-game league series would supply the final separation in the tiebreaker, Elliott said. —Dan Albano, Oc Register, 6 May 2025

Huarte, the No. 6 seed, also pulled off a big surprise in a marathon quarterfinal earlier in the day at Ojai Athletic Club, splitting sets with No. 2 Cayden Wang from Crean Lutheran, 6-7 (5), 6-4, before prevailing 10-8 in a super tiebreaker. —Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2025

The Sacramento Kings won a tiebreaker with the Atlanta Hawks to secure the 13th-best odds of landing one of the top four picks in the draft, which will be held June 25-26. —Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 22 Apr. 2025

The Heat also were involved in a tiebreaker with the Warriors for the Nos. 27-28 picks in 2022, winning that draw. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tiebreaker

• blackacre
• caretaker
• clockmaker
• dressmaker
• filmmaker
• homemaker
• icebreaker
• lawmaker
• matchmaker
• pacemaker
• partaker
• peacemaker