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

Eric Dane said he first shut down emotionally at just 7 years old, when navigating his father’s sudden death from a gunshot wound in a bathroom at his family’s home.

From Los Angeles Times

Authorities are investigating the sudden deaths of a Central Coast couple who pioneered California’s coffee-growing movement from their Santa Barbara County farm.

From Los Angeles Times

If you need a sudden death tiebreaker, you can be very complicated, but you have to be fair.

From Literature

The previous system was basically a modified sudden death system that gave each team at least one chance to score — with one big exception.

From Los Angeles Times

Officers said they had been called at 13:15 GMT to the report of a sudden death.

From BBC