curveball

or curve ball

[ kurv-bawl ]

noun

, Baseball.

1. a pitch with a downward spin that causes the ball to drop and veer as it approaches home plate, away from the side from which it was thrown:

   He started perfecting his curveball during his junior year in high school.

Word History and Origins

Origin of curveball¹

An Americanism dating back to 1875–80

Example Sentences

It ended up being the first kidney stone of his life—which was this unbelievable curveball.

From The Daily Beast

We sat in a tiny pizzeria in Milan and strategized about how to turn my curves into a curveball.

From The Daily Beast

I passed this information to senior management and had one of my best officers pull together the entire Curveball file.

From The Daily Beast

This fell to me, as the Chief of Europe; it was the first time I had heard of Curveball.

From The Daily Beast

Finally, in March 2004 the Europeans relented and we sent one of our very best field officers to debrief Curveball.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

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