break point

American

noun

Tennis.

a situation in which the receiving side, holding the advantage, can win the game by winning the next point.

break point British

noun

tennis a point which allows the receiving player to break the service of the server

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

It took Draper 49 minutes to create a break point - and Medvedev subsequently sent three aces flying past him to hold serve.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

"I did a really good job just holding serve, getting through a lot of those games," said Fritz, who never faced a break point.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

Cash and Glasspool missed both their break point opportunities in the third set, largely down to Budkov Kjaer's superb recovery skills.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

It was vintage Djokovic, but Alcaraz came storming back, upping the tempo to break for 2-1 in the second set, pumping his fist when he saved a break point and held in the next game.

From Barron's • Feb. 1, 2026

His break point seemed to have no adequate antecedents.

From Human Error by Jones, Raymond F.

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