muerte súbita
/ˌmweɾte ˈsubita/feminine
In Spanish, 'sudden death' is translated as muerte súbita.
In sports and games, this term is used to describe a tie-breaking mechanism where the first player or team to score wins immediately.
Meaning: mode of play (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the feminine noun muerte (death) and the feminine adjective súbita (sudden).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌmweɾte ˈsubita/
Did you know?
- In Spanish medical contexts, muerte súbita refers to a real clinical phenomenon called sudden cardiac death, making the sports term a literal borrowing from medicine.
- The word súbita shares its conceptual space with the English word 'subito', which is frequently used by musicians to denote a sudden change in tempo or volume.
- The word muerte is a linguistic cousin of the English words 'mortal' and 'mortify'.
Examples in context
- El médico intentó reanimarlo, pero sufrió una muerte súbita.The doctor tried to revive him, but he suffered sudden death.
- Lamentablemente, la víctima experimentó un fallecimiento repentino.Unfortunately, the victim experienced sudden death.
- No puedo creerlo, simplemente le dio la patada del perico.I can't believe it, he just dropped dead.
- Prefiero jugar con muerte súbita para que sea emocionante.I prefer playing sudden death to make it exciting.
- ¿La siguiente ronda será de muerte súbita?Will the next round be sudden death?
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding how to finish a tennis match.
- Daniel¿Quieres jugar la última ronda con muerte súbita?Do you want to play the last round with sudden death?
- LucíaSí, me parece una buena idea, Daniel.Yes, I think it's a good idea, Daniel.
- DanielPerfecto, entonces empezamos la muerte súbita ahora.Perfect, then we start sudden death now.
- Lucía¡Estoy lista para ganar!I am ready to win!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sudden death” translations and entries muerte súbita, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries muerte, CC BY-SA 4.0.
