sudden death
7
3.5
- noun
- Jargon
:
muerte súbita
- With the Greek Olympiad tied, we now go into sudden death.
- sudden-death playoff
- sudden death overtime
- sudden-death goal
Haven't won yet, but on Wednesday of last week we lost in sudden death.
- Haven't won yet, but on Wednesday of last week we lost in sudden death.
Examples
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The game is over in sudden-death overtime.
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It's sudden-death overtime.
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Then the match will continue with sudden death.
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That would mean you automatically move into sudden death.
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In the event of a tie, we move into a sudden-death round.
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The game is tied at 11 apiece, which means we'll go to sudden death, where the next goal wins.
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The event ended in a sudden-death round to determine who would leave with the $5,000 first prize.
Blog text (4) -
It's sudden death overtime.
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Unlike soccer shoot-outs, ours would be "sudden death": the first team to score wins if their goal isn't immediately matched by the other team.
Academic text (1999) -
In the playoffs, the game ended in sudden death, with the winning team scoring a goal in the first minute of overtime.
Synonyms
15
4.1
An extra game or period used to decide a winner when scores are tied
1
3.1
Extra time played after normal time when the score is tied to decide a winner
Antonyms
How Decisive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'sudden' (immediate) and 'death' (end) transparently convey the idea of an immediate ending, so a learner who knows both words can infer the general notion of an abrupt end. However, the sports-specific, rule-based sense (an overtime period that ends as soon as one side scores) is a conventionalized, technical use that goes beyond simple composition, so full understanding of the procedural nuance may not be predictable.
Etymology
Sudden death comes from the image of a sudden, final death — a quick, total end that stops something at once. In sport, that image means the next score 'ends' the game immediately, so the 'first team to score wins'.