curveball
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of curveball
An Americanism dating back to 1875–80
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.
Here’s what you’ve already missed, what’s still on the table—and some curveball alternatives.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
However, the developer threw a Ye-style curveball of his own in 2025, when he opted to list the partially completed home for $39 million, eventually reducing that price to $34.9 million.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 3, 2026
We'll sometimes throw each other a curveball with a pick choice but it never gets heated or anything like that.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025
In September, however, the same 6-3 majority threw another curveball.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025
I wind up like a pitcher and throw a curveball that doesn’t break.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
