countback

British

/ ˈkaʊntˌbæk /

noun

a system of deciding the winner of a tied competition by comparing earlier points or scores

"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.

Double Olympic champion Duplantis took victory with a first-time clearance over 6m - winning on countback after Greece's Emmanouil Karalis required three attempts to surpass that mark, before both failed at 6.10m.

From BBC • Aug. 27, 2025

Both he and Alonso ended the campaign tied on 109 points, with Hamilton classified in second on results countback.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2024

In 1987, they beat Fiji 18-15 in Dunedin but missed out on a countback of tries by one try.

From Washington Times • Oct. 5, 2023

He was given Toulon for a year, failing to lead it to the semifinals on a countback of tries, and was fired in 2018.

From Washington Times • Feb. 28, 2020

A tie in the Super Over would give England the trophy on a countback of boundaries and sixes in the 50-over final and Super Over.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2019

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