sudden death

American

noun

Sports.

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.

sudden death British

noun

(in sports, etc) an extra game or contest to decide the winner of a tied competition
an unexpected or quick death

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

sudden-death

adjective

Etymology

Origin of sudden death

First recorded in 1825–35

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.

Tributes poured in following the announcement of Busch's sudden death.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

County medical examiner raises new questions about the sudden death of 12-year-old Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

The sudden death of her daughter left Danielle Crittenden struggling to imagine the meaning of life without her.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Charles also made an emotional return to I'm A Celebrity after being forced to withdraw from the same series following the sudden death of his brother.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 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

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