doubleheader
Americannoun
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Sports.
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two games, as of baseball, between the same teams on the same day in immediate succession.
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two games, as of basketball, between two different pairs of teams on the same day in immediate succession.
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two performances or two events occurring one after the other or within a short time of each other.
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a railroad train pulled by two locomotives.
Etymology
Origin of doubleheader
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900; double + head + -er 1
Explanation
When two baseball games are played in a row, one right after the other, that's a doubleheader. Last week's game was called off because of rain, so today they're playing a doubleheader. You can use this term for any sporting events, but it originated with baseball. It was once common for a few baseball doubleheaders to be scheduled throughout the season, but today this generally happens only when a previous game had to be postponed. Strictly speaking, doubleheaders occur in succession, one immediately following the other, but the term is often used for any two games played in one day by a single team.
Vocabulary lists containing doubleheader
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
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A High Five for Glenn Burke
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Boy21
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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.
The Boston Red Sox lost the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday to end a win streak that tied an 80-year-old club record when it reached 15 in the opener.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
With a bullpen game scheduled for the evening half of a doubleheader Sunday, the Dodgers were counting on Yamamoto to pitch deep into Game 1 and let as many relievers as possible rest up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
The Dodgers didn’t immediately announce how the doubleheader might affect their starting pitching plans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
The quartet took the infield together for the first time in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds in a sold-out Dodger Stadium on June 23, 1973.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
I’m always pumped before the first pitch of a game, especially when I’m batting leadoff and especially when it’s the first game of a doubleheader.
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
