Baseball. a play in which a base runner, caught off base, is tagged out by an infielder on a quick throw, usually from the pitcher or catcher.
Electronics. a mechanism that senses mechanical motion and produces a corresponding electric signal.
First recorded in 1935–40; noun use of verb phrase pick off
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Andy Pages was caught stealing to end the sixth inning, getting stuck in a rundown after a premature jump that triggered a pick-off throw from Luzardo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025
“We just have to be better,” Roberts said, noting more pitch-outs and pick-off attempts might be necessary, too.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
An inning later, Gonzales’ throwing error on a pick-off attempt advanced Ketel Marte to third, and he scored on Carson Kelly’s sacrifice fly.
From Fox News ● Sep. 11, 2021
He only escaped the first inning scoreless because he caught Altuve napping at second base and executed a deft pick-off throw to J.P.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2021
Cody walked Kyle Seager in the second inning, then threw a pick-off attempt wide to advance him to second.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 5, 2020
Navy decommissioned its last battleship in 1992, after the military recognized that battleships had become sitting ducks, vulnerable to modern military munitions that could pick off the vessel from the sky.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
BigBear can certainly pick off smaller, more specialized government contracts, however, and even has a partnership with Palantir.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025
Eventually, it becomes pliable enough to pick off ground balls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Bellotti started Saturday's fight on the front foot, but Padley's sharp footwork and elite conditioning allowed him to pick off the 34-year-old.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2025
She never orders my burger plain, and I have to pick off those little onions every time.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
