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fielder's choice

American

noun

Baseball.

a fielder's attempt to put out a base runner rather than the batter when a play at first base would put out the batter.

Etymology

Origin of fielder's choice

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Milwaukee loaded the bases after that but Joey Ortiz grounded into an inning-ending fielder's choice.

From Barron's • Oct. 12, 2025

TCU reliever Louis Rodriguez did a good job limiting the damage, getting a strikeout, a fielder’s choice and a flyout, but USC had taken a 3-0 lead and never looked back.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2025

Betts scored after a fielder’s choice groundout to shortstop, giving the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

From Seattle Times • May 17, 2024

James Outman walked, Gavin Lux grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Mookie Betts walked to put two on for Ohtani, who slapped an opposite-field RBI single to left for a 5-1 lead.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2024

Ken sent him to third on a fielder's choice.

From The Young Pitcher by Grey, Zane

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023