sudden death

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.

sudden death

noun

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

Other Words From

• sudden-death adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sudden death¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

Jam is there because of the sudden death of her boyfriend, Reeve, and the listless state of major depression it throws her into.

From The Daily Beast

In November 1885, the sudden death of her eighteen year-old daughter, Annie, brought Mandelbaum back to New York City.

From The Daily Beast

“The death is being treated as a non-suspicious, but unexplained, sudden death,” a spokesman said.

From The Daily Beast

But before celebrating, please note, there is a plausible basis for sudden death from cannabis.

From The Daily Beast

And if so, can it cause you to literally drop dead from that ominous condition called “sudden death”?

From The Daily Beast

They were a well-matched pair; iron-nerved, both of them, the sort of men to face sudden death open-eyed and unafraid.

From Project Gutenberg

His sudden death a year ago came as a great blow to his family and a large circle of friends.

From Project Gutenberg

Diotti divined that something beyond  sympathy for old Sanders sudden death racked her soul.

From Project Gutenberg

Reduced to suffering by the sudden death of her husband, she concealed her misfortunes under the name of Mme. Charlotte.

From Project Gutenberg

This was the first intimation to Lucy Warrender's friends in London of her sudden death.

From Project Gutenberg