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• pitcher
  pitcher

  noun

  a container, usually with a handle and spout or lip, for holding and pouring liquids.
• Pitcher
  Pitcher

  noun

  Molly Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, 1754–1832, American Revolutionary heroine.

pitcher

¹ American  

[pich-er] / ˈpɪtʃ ər /

noun

1. a container, usually with a handle and spout or lip, for holding and pouring liquids.

2. Botany.

   1. a pitcherlike modification of the leaf of certain plants.

   2. an ascidium.

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pitcher ² American  

[pich-er] / ˈpɪtʃ ər /

noun

1. a person who pitches.

2. Baseball. the player who throws the ball to the opposing batter.

3. Also called number seven iron. Golf. a club with an iron head the face of which has more slope than a mashie but less slope than a pitching niblick.

4. sett.

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Pitcher ³ American  

[pich-er] / ˈpɪtʃ ər /

noun

1. Molly Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, 1754–1832, American Revolutionary heroine.

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pitcher ¹ British  

/ ˈpɪtʃə /

noun

1. a large jug, usually rounded with a narrow neck and often of earthenware, used mainly for holding water

2. botany any of the urn-shaped leaves of the pitcher plant

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pitcher ² British  

/ ˈpɪtʃə /

noun

1. baseball the player on the fielding team who pitches the ball to the batter

2. a granite stone or sett used in paving

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pitcher Idioms  

1. see little pitchers have big ears.

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Other Word Forms

• pitcherlike
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of pitcher¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English picher, from Old French pichier, from Medieval Latin picārium, variant of bicārium beaker

Origin of pitcher²

First recorded in 1700–10; pitch ¹ + -er ¹

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Explanation

In baseball or softball, the pitcher is the player who throws the ball to the catcher in an attempt to strike out the batter. Another kind of pitcher is one that holds a liquid, like a pitcher of lemonade. The pitcher is one of the most important players on a team, aiming the pitch so that it stays inside a certain "strike zone," but in a way that entices the batter to swing and miss or not to swing at all. The batter, on the other hand, tries to hit the ball that the pitcher throws, and maybe even to hit a home run. The 18th-century meaning of pitcher was "one who pitches hay into a wagon."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pitcher Pitcher

Use him as a pitcher and a part-time hitter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Bryan Baker tied for the major-league lead with 41 saves in 2026 after discovering a new changeup grip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

In the 1934 World Series, Dean won the first game against the Detroit Tigers, in part because the Detroit manager, Mickey Cochrane, held his best pitcher, Lynwood “Schoolboy” Rowe, out of that game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

“But if you dooooon’t …” Folger repeats the words like a pitcher caressing a verbal curveball she’s about to throw.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

He finished the remaining oranges and poured the juice into a pitcher.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Pitcher DL Hall said the players hear it “probably eight to 10 times a day.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Taronga Conservation Society Australia Behavioural Biologist Benjamin Pitcher said the research on sea lions and seals would have real world impact.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Gregory Zuckerman and Jack Pitcher asked Ray Dalio, BlackRock’s Rick Rieder and other leading money managers for their thoughts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Pitcher Tyler Glasnow runs into trouble early and the Dodgers fall short of a comeback in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss to the Miami Marlins.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Ma fixed pots and scythes and rakes and picks for eggs or some such, took what we needed, then traded the rest to Ralph Pitcher for store credit at the mercantile.

From "Worth" by A. LaFaye

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