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force play

American

[fawrs pley] / ˈfɔrs ˌpleɪ /

noun

Baseball.

a defensive play in which the fielder holding the ball can make a putout by stepping on, or otherwise touching, the base that a runner is heading toward, having been forced to advance to that base because of a batter’s base hit.

Etymology

Origin of force play

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

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.

The Dodgers had to settle for the force play, and Snell had to make an extra seven pitches to get out of the inning.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

In the 10th, Treinen gave up a run when Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled, stole second base, stole third base and scored on a force play.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2024

Adam Frazier tied it by grounding into a force play, but Civale then escaped the inning when Rutschman grounded into a double play on the first pitch.

From Washington Times • Sep. 14, 2023

Heavy rain caused sufficient delays to force play into a fifth day in Dubai.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2023

These semi-conscious centres of force play a great part at séances, and are mostly the agents who are active in producing physical phenomena.

From Death—and After? by Besant, Annie Wood

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