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pinch-hit

[pinch-hit]
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verb (used without object), pinch-hit, pinch-hit·ting.
  1. Baseball. to serve as a pinch hitter.
  2. Informal. to substitute for someone, especially in an emergency.
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verb (used with object), pinch-hit, pinch-hit·ting.
  1. Baseball. to get, or make (a hit) in pinch-hitting.
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Origin of pinch-hit

1930–35, Americanism; back formation from pinch hitter

pinch hit

noun Baseball.
  1. a hit made by a pinch hitter.
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Origin of pinch hit

First recorded in 1910–15
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for pinch-hit

pinch-hit

verb -hits, -hitting or -hit (intr)
  1. baseball to bat as a substitute for the scheduled batter
  2. US and Canadian informal to act as a substitute
  3. cricket (of a batsman in a limited-overs match) to bat aggressively at the start of an innings in order to take advantage of fielding restrictions
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Derived Formspinch hitter, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012