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fungo

American  
[fuhng-goh] / ˈfʌŋ goʊ /

noun

Baseball.
  • fungoes
    plural
  1. (in practice sessions) a ball tossed into the air by the batter and struck as it comes down.

  2. a batted ball, especially a fly ball, hit in this manner.

  3. Also called fungo bat. a bat used in hitting fungoes, being lighter, longer, and narrower than an ordinary baseball bat.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of fungo

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; of obscure origin


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.

See Examples For:

“Most of us couldn’t stand in right field with a fungo and hit it up there,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said with a shake of his head.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2021

"Most of us couldn’t stand in right field with a fungo and hit it up there," Royals manager Mike Matheny said with a shake of his head.

From Fox News ● Sep. 7, 2021

Ross: No. A fungo bat is simply used for hitting practice balls to fielders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2019

Montague used a fungo bat off the tee and drove the ball into a bunker.

From Golf Digest ● Dec. 9, 2016

"We'll start in at light work, batting fungo and the like, limbering up our legs, and then we'll do hard work."

From Baseball Joe in the Big League or, A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles by Lester Chadwick

Williams won’t be hitting fungoes or coaching third base for at least four weeks while he continues to heal.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2023

The drill was to make 27 consecutive defensive outs without an error as Rojas and Tarrasco hit fungoes.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2021

A coach stands in the shallow outfield grass and hits fungoes into the gaps and the corners, as different combinations of baserunners circle the bases.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2017

The right side of La Russa’s face was swollen for a while, although he continued to hit fungoes at practice until the last homestand.

From New York Times ● May 11, 2011

Gentle to the clumsy, girl-voiced boys whom he trained to be average, to be adequate, as he hit the soft fungoes to the outfield green.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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