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.

Needing another weapon to complement his fastball and breaking ball, his college pitching coach suggested he attempt to add a splitter to his repertoire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

Catcher Logan O’Hoppe struck out looking to end the game on a breaking ball well off the strike zone.

From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2025

A former starter and a lefty with a good breaking ball, which is something worse than kryptonite to Mariners hitters, Heaney pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing five hits not a walk and two strikeouts.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2023

“I got a breaking ball that he left up a little.”

From Washington Times • Sep. 2, 2023

His breaking ball was effective, as the Diamondbacks managed to put only one of his 26 slurves into play.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 9, 2023

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