leg-break

American

[leg-breyk] / ˈlɛgˌbreɪk /

noun

Cricket.

a ball deviating to the off side from the leg side when bowled.

leg break British

noun

cricket a bowled ball that spins from leg to off on pitching

"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

Etymology

Origin of leg-break

First recorded in 1885–90

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.

Vastly experienced leg-break bowler Adil Rashid leads the spin attack, with all-rounders Liam Dawson, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed giving Brook a range of slow-bowling options.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

That hard-spun leg-break that left Gatting staring at his stumps in disbelief went down in cricket folklore as the 'ball of the century'.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2022

A horrific double leg-break sustained against PSV Eindhoven in September 2015 proved to be the last time Shaw would play under Van Gaal.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2021

A blink was required when he reverse-swept a leg-break from Amit Mishra into the wide, open spaces at third man.

From The Guardian • Aug. 11, 2011

Every time it rained the old leg-break seemed to remember itself, and what it remembered was a dull hurt.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

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