pinch hitter

American  

noun

1. Baseball. a substitute who bats for a teammate, often at a critical moment of the game.

2. any substitute for another, especially in an emergency.

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pinch hitter Idioms  

1. A substitute for another person, especially in an emergency. For example, Pat expected her mother to help with the baby, but just in case, she lined up her mother-in-law as pinch hitter. This expression comes from baseball, where it is used for a player substituting for another at bat at a critical point or in a tight situation (called a pinch since the late 1400s). [Late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of pinch hitter

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pinch hitter

With two outs and the tying run on first in the top of the ninth, he sent Chaney up to the plate as a pinch hitter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Miguel Rojas, an infielder, was deployed as a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth inning and remained in the game at shortstop.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2025

“Like a pinch hitter or an assassin, he comes in and just perfectly executes the assignment of every scene.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025

But Angels manager Ron Washington replaced him with pinch hitter Jo Adell, a right-handed-hitting power threat, who was hitless in his last 18 plate appearances.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2024

I know that Gramps can’t be that late-inning pinch hitter I’d hoped for.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

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Related Words

• backup
• designated hitter
• replacement

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