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

For Doncaster couple Nathan and Fiona Robinson, the wait between their two-year-old son Alfie's sudden death and his post-mortem examination taking place was seven months.

From BBC • May 29, 2026

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

From BBC • May 21, 2026

She presents her daughter’s sudden death in crisp, often tart prose that cannot mask the ache that lurks beneath the surface.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

Soto alleges that under Patsy and Elsy, she was denied adequate time off to grieve after the sudden death of her brother, and was told to “report to work immediately.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

But he left us on our own to wonder why Kennedy was murdered—and on our own to try to find solace in his sudden death.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry