catcher

American  

[kach-er] / ˈkætʃ ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that catches.

2. Baseball. the player stationed behind home plate, whose chief duty is to catch pitches not hit by the batter.

3. a member of an aerialist team, as in a circus, who hangs head down from a trapeze and catches another member who has completed a jump or somersault through the air.

4. Metalworking. a person who feeds metal rods through a looping mill.

5.  catcher resonator.  Electronics. Klystron

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catcher British  

/ ˈkætʃə /

noun

1. a person or thing that catches, esp in a game or sport

2. baseball a fielder who stands behind home plate and catches pitched balls not hit by the batter

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Etymology

Origin of catcher

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; catch, -er ¹

Example Sentences

To use Brook's words, pressure, even just a little bit, had to be deflected, runs had to be scored and catchers had to be moved.

From BBC

A fifth-round draft pick in 2023, he blew past expectations and quickly established himself as one of the best pass catchers in the sport.

From The Wall Street Journal

To this point, the only Dodgers player other than Ohtani to confirm his WBC participation is catcher Will Smith for Team USA.

From Los Angeles Times

Mahomes’s pass catchers, who routinely came through in the clutch, are failing him at key moments.

From The Wall Street Journal

He acknowledges he has “kind of fought” analytics-based approaches and still raves about the veteran Angels pitching instructors — including the late, great Howie Gershberg — that turned him from a catcher into a closer.

From Los Angeles Times