First recorded in 1885–90
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
Ahmed's second spell brought the special moment of his first wicket - left-hander Shakeel inside-edged a leg-break onto his pad and was well taken by a diving Ollie Pope at short leg.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2022
First she had Raj expertly stumped with a fizzing leg-break before, from the very next ball, Richa Ghosh was bamboozled by a googly that rocked back her off stump.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2022
Warne's Ball, a hard-spun leg-break to dismiss Mike Gatting on the third day of the Old Trafford Test, is still jarringly fresh even as it approaches its 20th birthday this Ashes summer.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 29, 2013
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
Brignone returned to action last week with a hugely impressive sixth place in the giant slalom at Kronplatz, her first race since suffering a double leg break in April last year.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
Dow had fought her way back from a leg break seven months before, only to suffer heartbreak at the last.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2025
That greatly increases the risk of infection, as occurred with Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith, who suffered a gruesome leg break that, after subsequent infections, brought the risk of amputation and was life-threatening.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2021
It was an emotional and amazing moment when Smith returned to the field in Week 5 after missing nearly two years following a horrifying leg break.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2020
Smith returned this year from a compound leg break for a $16 million paycheck.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2020
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.
