breaking ball

American

[brey-king bawl] / ˈbreɪ kɪŋ ˈbɔl /

noun

Baseball.

any pitch in which the ball deviates from a straight path as it approaches the batter.

If you’re not sure if it was a slider or a curve, just say it was a breaking ball.

Etymology

Origin of breaking ball

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

After he was expelled from the embassy, Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in jail in London for breaching bail conditions related to the rape inquiry.

From New York Times • Mar. 26, 2024

British police immediately arrested and imprisoned him for breaching bail in 2012.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 21, 2024

Ms McGowan is also accused of breaching bail.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 2024

However, he was dragged out and jailed in 2019 for breaching bail conditions, and has been held in prison in London ever since while his extradition case is decided.

From Reuters • Dec. 2, 2022

British police immediately arrested him for breaching bail in 2012.

From Washington Times • Jan. 4, 2021

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