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

If that happens, the conference champion would be determined by a series of tiebreakers, including goal differential and total goals scored; the Galaxy have comfortable leads in both categories. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2024

Sinner had won 18 of his last 19 tiebreakers heading into the third set breaker, but Alcaraz believed in himself even after trailing 0-3. —Adam Zagoria, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024

Chelsie started off strong with a string of correct answers, but Angela made an impressive late-game comeback, forcing her and Chelsie into a tiebreaker. —Rebecca Iannucci, TVLine, 26 Sep. 2024

The 17th-ranked Tiafoe was angered by being docked his first serve for a time violation at 5-5 in the decisive tiebreaker. —Adam Zagoria, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined at sense 3