'tiebreaker' originates from the combination of 'tie' and 'breaker', where 'tie' meant 'a situation where competitors have the same score' and 'breaker' meant 'something that breaks or resolves'.

'tiebreaker' evolved from the need to resolve ties in competitive sports and games, becoming a standard term in the 20th century.

Initially, it meant 'a method to resolve ties in sports', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.