curveball
noun
curve·ball
ˈkərv-ˌbȯl 
: a slow or moderately fast baseball pitch thrown with spin to make it swerve downward and usually to the left when thrown from the right hand or to the right when thrown from the left hand
curveball
verb
Examples of curveball in a Sentence
The batter struck out on a curveball.
Recent Examples on the Web
His changeup was paired alongside his curveball — which froze plenty of hitter —, and his fastball that helped set up the off-speed offerings.
—
Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
YouTube sensation Trisha Paytas likes a career curveball.
—Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Blake Snell’s curveball (Go Phils) 3.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025
Just like the year-round version, chefs fight in a bracket-style competition and are thrown curveballs by the randomizer, a lottery-style machine used on TOC that determines the protein, produce, equipment, cooking style and time set for each cook-off.
—Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curveball
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Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
YouTube sensation Trisha Paytas likes a career curveball.
—Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Blake Snell’s curveball (Go Phils) 3.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2025
Just like the year-round version, chefs fight in a bracket-style competition and are thrown curveballs by the randomizer, a lottery-style machine used on TOC that determines the protein, produce, equipment, cooking style and time set for each cook-off.
—Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curveball
Cite this Entry
“Curveball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curveball. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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