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Synonyms

curveball

American  
[kurv-bawl] / ˈkɜrvˌbɔl /
Or curve ball

noun

Baseball.

  1. a pitch with a downward spin that causes the ball to drop and veer as it approaches home plate, away from the side from which it was thrown.

    He started perfecting his curveball during his junior year in high school.

Etymology

Origin of curveball

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He’s impressed through his first two Cactus League starts, with just four baserunners and no runs over 2-2/3 innings, while working with a versatile five-pitch mix that features a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a “bullet slider,” a straight changeup and a 12-to-6 curveball.

From Los Angeles Times

He showed promise with his high-velocity fastball and swing-and-miss slider/curveball combination.

From Los Angeles Times

"That's completely unexpected, what a curveball, I've been totally played."

From BBC

Still, Stafford will turn 38 the day before the Super Bowl, and it wouldn’t be much of a curveball if that were his last game, especially if the Rams were to win.

From Los Angeles Times

“They finally seemed to figure shale out, and here comes another curveball.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.