fungo

American

[fuhng-goh] / ˈfʌŋ goʊ /

noun

Baseball.

plural

fungoes

(in practice sessions) a ball tossed into the air by the batter and struck as it comes down.
a batted ball, especially a fly ball, hit in this manner.
Also called fungo bat. a bat used in hitting fungoes, being lighter, longer, and narrower than an ordinary baseball bat.

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.

Each day, with Montero’s iPads filming Betts’ every move, Montero hit Betts grounders with a fungo bat for upward of two hours.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2025

Hayes is dealing with his hand issues by making changes, experimenting with a fungo handle on his bat and a two-handed follow-through on his swing to alleviate pressure on his wrist this spring.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 28, 2022

"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

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

From Golf Digest • Dec. 9, 2016

The fungo batters were sending up better flies.

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

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