curveball

or curve ball

[ kurv-bawl ]
See synonyms for curveball on Thesaurus.com
nounBaseball.
  1. a pitch with a downward spin that causes the ball to drop and veer as it approaches home plate, away from the side from which it was thrown: He started perfecting his curveball during his junior year in high school.

Origin of curveball

1
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80

Words Nearby curveball

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use curveball in a sentence

  • Lisud saw-un ang búla nga naglikuy, It is hard to catch a curve ball.

  • He decided to use a high curve ball over the plate and let Prince hit, trusting to luck and the players behind him.

    The Young Pitcher | Zane Grey
  • I met Dick Talbot this morning and he promised to come over and take a film of my curve ball in a day or two.

    Baseball Joe on the Giants | Lester Chadwick
  • I pitched a curve ball that was meant for the outside corner, but cut the plate better than I intended.

    Pitching in a Pinch | Christy Mathewson

British Dictionary definitions for curve ball

curve ball

noun
  1. baseball a ball pitched in a curving path so as to make it more difficult to hit

  2. informal something deceptive: his wholesome image was a curve ball thrown to deceive the public

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