Curveball

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A forespin pitch thrown by rotating the index and middle fingers down and resulting in motion down "curve"
"He bit on a curveball in the dirt."
2
An unexpected turn of events initiated by an opponent or chance; an exception or outlier. US, broadly
"Life has thrown him a few curveballs."

Verb

1
To throw a curveball.
"Even though the haughty physics professors at the elite school ridiculed his declaration that he could make a baseball curve, Cummings just laughed it off and said, “I curveballed them to death,” according to Frederick Ivor-Campbell."

Synonyms

change up curve curve deuce fastball twist

Example

"He's a master at the curveball."

Etymology

From curve + ball.

Related phrases

throw someone a curveball knee buckler

More for "curveball"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.