pitcher

¹

[pich-er]

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.

pitcher

²

[pich-er]

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.

Pitcher

³

[pich-er]

noun

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

pitcher

¹

/ 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

pitcher

²

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• pitcherlike adjective

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pitcher¹

C13: from Old French pichier, from Medieval Latin picārium, variant of bicārium _beaker

Idioms and Phrases

see little pitchers have big ears.

Example Sentences

It’s not as if the next pitcher shut down the Phillies.

From Los Angeles Times

With any other pitcher, what happened next would have been simple.

From Los Angeles Times

The Dodgers are planning to use Shohei Ohtani as a starting pitcher in the playoffs, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman confirmed Monday.

From Los Angeles Times

He wouldn’t say which 13 pitchers he had in mind, and in fairness that could change with the next injury.

From Los Angeles Times

But they weren’t doing fundamental things — like stressing opposing pitchers, driving up pitch counts, or executing in leverage situations — either.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ace 
• baseball player www.thesaurus.com
• reliever