pitcher

¹ American  

[pich-er] / ˈpɪtʃ ər /

noun

1. a container, usually with a handle and spout or lip, for holding and pouring liquids.

2. Botany.

   1. a pitcherlike modification of the leaf of certain plants.

   2. an ascidium.

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pitcher ² American  

[pich-er] / ˈpɪtʃ ər /

noun

1. a person who pitches.

2. Baseball. the player who throws the ball to the opposing batter.

3. Also called number seven iron.  Golf. a club with an iron head the face of which has more slope than a mashie but less slope than a pitching niblick.

4. sett.

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Pitcher ³ American  

[pich-er] / ˈpɪtʃ ər /

noun

1. Molly Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, 1754–1832, American Revolutionary heroine.

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pitcher ¹ British  

/ ˈpɪtʃə /

noun

1. a large jug, usually rounded with a narrow neck and often of earthenware, used mainly for holding water

2. botany any of the urn-shaped leaves of the pitcher plant

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pitcher ² British  

/ ˈpɪtʃə /

noun

1. baseball the player on the fielding team who pitches the ball to the batter

2. a granite stone or sett used in paving

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pitcher Idioms  

1. see little pitchers have big ears.

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Other Word Forms

• pitcherlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of pitcher¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English picher, from Old French pichier, from Medieval Latin picārium, variant of bicārium beaker

Origin of pitcher²

First recorded in 1700–10; pitch ¹ + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Noah Darnell, a senior pitcher at Santa Margarita High, got to experience something that is becoming too common in the world of the college transfer portal and changing NIL rules.

From Los Angeles Times

The Dodgers, who also boast Japanese pitcher and World Series Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto, beat the Toronto Blue Jays in a seventh-game thriller last November to defend their title.

From Barron's

Yet the most notorious MLB prop bets last year involved pitchers, not hitters.

From Los Angeles Times

Or, if that metaphor doesn’t appeal to you, how about a late-inning relief pitcher warming up in the bullpen?

From Salon

The MLB has introduced rules aimed at protecting pitchers, limiting their throws at the professional level and putting age restrictions on how much young players can pitch.

From BBC

Related Words

• ace
• baseball player
• reliever