sudden death

American  

noun

Sports.

1. an overtime period in which a tied contest is won and play is stopped immediately after one of the contestants scores, as in football, or goes ahead, as in golf.

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sudden death British  

noun

1. (in sports, etc) an extra game or contest to decide the winner of a tied competition

2. an unexpected or quick death

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Other Word Forms

• sudden-death
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sudden death

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

After the sudden death of her father, Chloe Cooper felt like she was the only person in the world feeling such intense grief.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

She says most people's idea of death comes from dramatic scenes in films or a sudden death.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

The Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas won’t take bereavement leave or travel back to his native Venezuela following the sudden death of his father, Miguel Rojas Sr., manager Dave Roberts said before the game.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

Dickens’s readers balk at his use of caricature and coincidence, but as Mr. Keefe shows, both are appropriate for a money-mad city full of affluence and anonymity, weird proximities and sudden death.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

His own species book had suffered a serious blow, if not a sudden death.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman