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• pinch hit
  pinch hit

  noun

  a hit made by a pinch hitter.
• pinch-hit
  pinch-hit

  verb (used without object)

  to serve as a pinch hitter.

pinch hit

¹ American  

noun

Baseball.

1. a hit made by a pinch hitter.

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pinch-hit ² American  

[pinch-hit] / ˈpɪntʃˈhɪt /

verb (used without object)

pinch-hit, pinch-hitting

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-hitting

1. Baseball. to get, or make (a hit) in pinch-hitting.

pinch-hit British  

verb

1. baseball to bat as a substitute for the scheduled batter

2. 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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Other Word Forms

• pinch hitter
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pinch hit¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Origin of pinch-hit²

1930–35, back formation from pinch hitter

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pinch hit pinch-hit pinch-hitting

Edman pinch hit for him against a right-handed reliever in the top of the ninth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Young decided to pinch hit her for designated hitter Thaima Maximiliana despite having never seen her hit in person.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

Servais couldn’t call on Raleigh fast enough to pinch hit for backup catcher Seby Zavala.

From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024

But when his next turn at the plate came, Josh Rojas pinch hit for him.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 21, 2024

"Well, put a watch mark on your arm, sailor, and put it there pronto, or you'll be needing an understudy to pinch hit for you."

From Biltmore Oswald The Diary of a Hapless Recruit by Dick Dorgan

It spoiled Max Muncy’s pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning that staked Díaz to a 4-2 lead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Roberts left open the possibility of a pinch-hit appearance Thursday with the game on the line.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Alex Call, who pinch-hit for Ward in the fifth, also drove in two runs with a single to shallow center left field.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026

By the time the inning ended, a pair of Los Angeles relievers had let nine runs cross the plate, punctuated by Addison Barger’s pinch-hit grand slam, the first in World Series history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2025

He was called off the bench to pinch-hit with two outs in the ninth, two Dodgers on base after walks, and the enemy leading by one run.

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Roberts first had to dip into his bench in the seventh inning, pinch-hitting Rojas for Michael Conforto as the Braves brought left-handed reliever Dylan Lee into the game.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2025

Openers Phil Salt and Will Jacks combined for 39, but both struggled to unleash their trademark bombastic pinch-hitting and they fell in quick succession, skying catches off the bowling of Jayden Seales.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024

Occasionally it’s pinch-hitting for substance, mere showiness with nothing behind it.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2024

Solano, pinch-hitting for Joey Gallo, hit the first pitch from Miles Mikolas up the middle to score in Jorge Polanco and Matt Wallner.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 2, 2023

“Doc” Scanlon was pitching for Brooklyn, and, evidently intimidated by Sam’s pinch-hitting reputation or something, suddenly became wild and gave the Giant batter three balls.

From Pitching in a Pinch or, Baseball from the Inside by Christy Mathewson