Library / English Dictionary

PITCH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The action or manner of throwing something

Example:

his pitch fell short and his hat landed on the floor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

throw (the act of throwing (propelling something with a rapid movement of the arm and wrist))

Derivation:

pitch (throw or toss with a light motion)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter

Synonyms:

delivery; pitch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

throw (the act of throwing (propelling something with a rapid movement of the arm and wrist))

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pitch"):

wild pitch (an errant pitch that the catcher cannot be expected to catch and that allows a base runner to advance a base)

submarine ball; submarine pitch (a pitch thrown sidearm instead of overhead)

strike ((baseball) a pitch that the batter swings at and misses, or that the batter hits into foul territory, or that the batter does not swing at but the umpire judges to be in the area over home plate and between the batter's knees and shoulders)

spitball; spitter (an illegal pitch in which a foreign substance (spit or Vaseline) is applied to the ball by the pitcher before he throws it)

sinker (a pitch that curves downward rapidly as it approaches the plate)

screwball (a pitch with reverse spin that curves toward the side of the plate from which it was thrown)

passed ball (a pitch that the catcher should have caught but did not; allows a base runner to advance a base)

overhand pitch (a baseball pitch in which the hand moves above the shoulder)

knuckleball; knuckler (a baseball pitch thrown with little speed or spin)

bullet; fastball; heater; hummer; smoke ((baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity)

duster (a pitch thrown deliberately close to the batter)

bender; breaking ball; curve; curve ball (a pitch of a baseball that is thrown with spin so that its path curves as it approaches the batter)

change-of-pace; change-of-pace ball; change-up; off-speed pitch (a baseball thrown with little velocity when the batter is expecting a fastball)

beanball; beaner (a baseball deliberately thrown at the batter's head)

ball (a pitch that is not in the strike zone)

balk (an illegal pitching motion while runners are on base)

Derivation:

pitch (throw or hurl from the mound to the batter, as in baseball)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance)

Example:

the pitching and tossing was quite exciting

Synonyms:

lurch; pitch; pitching

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Domain category:

ship (a vessel that carries passengers or freight)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pitch"):

careen; rock; sway; tilt (pitching dangerously to one side)

Derivation:

pitch (move abruptly)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An all-fours game in which the first card led is a trump

Synonyms:

auction pitch; pitch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

all fours; high-low-jack (card games in which points are won for taking the high or low or jack or game)

Derivation:

pitch (lead (a card) and establish the trump suit)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A high approach shot in golf

Synonyms:

pitch; pitch shot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

approach; approach shot (a relatively short golf shot intended to put the ball onto the putting green)

Derivation:

pitch (hit (a golf ball) in a high arc with a backspin)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

sound property (an attribute of sound)

Attribute:

high; high-pitched (used of sounds and voices; high in pitch or frequency)

low; low-pitched (used of sounds and voices; low in pitch or frequency)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pitch"):

tune (the property of producing accurately a note of a given pitch)

tone ((linguistics) a pitch or change in pitch of the voice that serves to distinguish words in tonal languages)

bass (the lowest part of the musical range)

alto ((of a musical instrument) the second highest instrument in a family of musical instruments)

alto (the pitch range of the lowest female voice)

low frequency; low pitch (a pitch that is perceived as below other pitches)

key (pitch of the voice)

tenor (the pitch range of the highest male voice)

soprano; treble (the pitch range of the highest female voice)

high frequency; high pitch (a pitch that is perceived as above other pitches)

concert pitch; international pitch; philharmonic pitch (the pitch used to tune instruments for concert performances; usually assigns 440 Hz to the A above middle C)

Derivation:

pitch (set to a certain pitch)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Degree of deviation from a horizontal plane

Example:

the roof had a steep pitch

Synonyms:

pitch; rake; slant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

gradient; slope (the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pitch"):

loft ((golf) the backward slant on the head of some golf clubs that is designed to drive the ball high in the air)

Derivation:

pitch (heel over)

pitch (be at an angle)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Promotion by means of an argument and demonstration

Synonyms:

pitch; sales pitch; sales talk

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

packaging; promo; promotion; promotional material; publicity (a message issued in behalf of some product or cause or idea or person or institution)

Derivation:

pitch (sell or offer for sale from place to place)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A sports field with predetermined dimensions for playing soccer

Synonyms:

pitch; soccer field

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

athletic field; field; playing area; playing field (a piece of land prepared for playing a game)

Sense 10

Meaning:

A vendor's position (especially on the sidewalk)

Example:

he was employed to see that his paper's news pitches were not trespassed upon by rival vendors

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

place; position (the particular portion of space occupied by something)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

Derivation:

pitch (sell or offer for sale from place to place)

Sense 11

Meaning:

Any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue

Synonyms:

pitch; tar

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("pitch" is a kind of...):

bitumen (any of various naturally occurring impure mixtures of hydrocarbons)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pitch"):

coal tar (a tar formed from distillation of bituminous coal; coal tar can be further distilled to give various aromatic compounds)

Derivation:

pitchy (having the characteristics of pitch or tar)

pitchy (of the blackest black; similar to the color of jet or coal)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Set the level or character of

Example:

She pitched her speech to the teenagers in the audience

Synonyms:

gear; pitch

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

accommodate; adapt (make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pitch"):

popularise; popularize (make understandable to the general public)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Set to a certain pitch

Example:

He pitched his voice very low

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

set (put into a certain state; cause to be in a certain state)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pitch (the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lead (a card) and establish the trump suit

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

play (put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act strategically as if in a card game)

Domain category:

card game; cards (a game played with playing cards)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pitch (an all-fours game in which the first card led is a trump)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Hit (a golf ball) in a high arc with a backspin

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

hit (cause to move by striking)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pitch (a high approach shot in golf)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Throw or hurl from the mound to the batter, as in baseball

Example:

The pitcher delivered the ball

Synonyms:

deliver; pitch

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

throw (propel through the air)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pitch ((baseball) the act of throwing a baseball by a pitcher to a batter)

pitcher ((baseball) the person who does the pitching)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Throw or toss with a light motion

Example:

toss me newspaper

Synonyms:

flip; pitch; sky; toss

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

fling (throw with force or recklessness)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pitch"):

throw back; toss back (throw back with a quick, light motion)

lag (throw or pitch at a mark, as with coins)

submarine (throw with an underhand motion)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

The children pitch the ball

Derivation:

pitch (the action or manner of throwing something)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Erect and fasten

Example:

pitch a tent

Synonyms:

pitch; set up

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

erect; rear (cause to rise up)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pitch"):

camp; camp down (establish or set up a camp)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 8

Meaning:

Move abruptly

Example:

The ship suddenly lurched to the left

Synonyms:

lurch; pitch; shift

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

pitch; pitching (abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance))

Sense 9

Meaning:

Heel over

Example:

The ceiling is slanting

Synonyms:

cant; cant over; pitch; slant; tilt

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pitch"):

cock (tilt or slant to one side)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pitch (degree of deviation from a horizontal plane)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Fall or plunge forward

Example:

She pitched over the railing of the balcony

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

come down; descend; fall; go down (move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The airplane is sure to pitch

Sense 11

Meaning:

Be at an angle

Example:

The terrain sloped down

Synonyms:

incline; pitch; slope

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

angle; lean; slant; tilt; tip (to incline or bend from a vertical position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pitch"):

ascend (slope upwards)

stoop (sag, bend, bend over or down)

fall (slope downward)

climb (slope upward)

dip (slope downwards)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

pitch (degree of deviation from a horizontal plane)

Sense 12

Meaning:

Sell or offer for sale from place to place

Synonyms:

hawk; huckster; monger; peddle; pitch; vend

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pitch" is one way to...):

deal; sell; trade (do business; offer for sale as for one's livelihood)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

pitch (promotion by means of an argument and demonstration)

pitch (a vendor's position (especially on the sidewalk))

Credits

 Context examples: 

"Not from the way he pitches into it up to his ears," remarked Harkey.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The place was pitch dark, but it was evident to me that it was an empty house.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Holmes shot the slide across the front of his lantern and left us in pitch darkness—such an absolute darkness as I have never before experienced.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A soundscape’s saturation refers to the variety of pitches and frequencies found in the sounds.

(Scientists record the sound of intact forest, SciDev.Net)

Those that sense low pitches are at one end; those that detect high pitches are at the other.

(Hearing different frequencies, NIH)

Outside this ring an outer one was pitched, eight feet separating the two.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

At a more than ordinary pitch of thumping and hallooing in the passage, he exclaimed, Devil take those young dogs!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

That night we pitched our camp immediately under the cliff—a most wild and desolate spot.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mr. Weston, his son, Emma, and Harriet, only remained; and the young man's spirits now rose to a pitch almost unpleasant.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

It was not far to Longmeadow, but the tent was pitched and the wickets down by the time they arrived.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)