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• pitcher
  pitcher

  noun

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

  noun

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

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

Explanation

In baseball or softball, the pitcher is the player who throws the ball to the catcher in an attempt to strike out the batter. Another kind of pitcher is one that holds a liquid, like a pitcher of lemonade. The pitcher is one of the most important players on a team, aiming the pitch so that it stays inside a certain "strike zone," but in a way that entices the batter to swing and miss or not to swing at all. The batter, on the other hand, tries to hit the ball that the pitcher throws, and maybe even to hit a home run. The 18th-century meaning of pitcher was "one who pitches hay into a wagon."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pitcher Pitcher

He started in a more open stance, tapped his toe in line with the pitcher, and then set his foot down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

When I graduated in 1969, I had a choice: I had been drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 40th round as a pitcher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Although there is some disagreement over exactly how that ritual started, Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux insists it began after Pride was called up by the Expos in September 1993.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

Nine days later Maddux started for the Braves in Montreal and took the mound remembering something his brother Mike, also a major league pitcher, had told him about Pride.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

You never tasted lemonade so good as what he makes in his steel pitcher, from real lemons and white sugar stirred in.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

The roller-coaster ride has continued: The Kospi has since rebounded from its low, report Jiyoung Sohn, Sooyoung Rhee and Jack Pitcher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Det Ch Insp Al Pitcher, who is leading the investigation, also said "all our thoughts are with the family and friends of those involved".

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Pitcher Edgardo Henriquez did not join the team for the White House visit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Pitcher, Julian Garcia, St. John Bosco, Sr.: The Long Beach State commit threw a one-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts in the Southern Section Division 1 final and finished 9-1 with a 0.80 ERA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

Ma fixed pots and scythes and rakes and picks for eggs or some such, took what we needed, then traded the rest to Ralph Pitcher for store credit at the mercantile.

From "Worth" by A. LaFaye

Related Words

• ace
• baseball player
• reliever