pitchfork
Americannoun
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pitchforks
plural
verb (used with object)
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pitchforks,
present (3rd person singular)
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pitchforked,
past participle, past
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pitchforking
present participle
noun
verb
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to use a pitchfork on (something)
-
to thrust (someone) unwillingly into a position
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pitchforksimple
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pitchforkssimple
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have pitchforkedperfect
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has pitchforkedperfect
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am pitchforkingprogressive
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are pitchforkingprogressive
-
is pitchforkingprogressive
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have been pitchforkingperfect progressive
-
has been pitchforkingperfect progressive
Past
-
pitchforkedsimple
-
had pitchforkedperfect
-
was pitchforkingprogressive
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were pitchforkingprogressive
-
had been pitchforkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pitchfork
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at pitch 1, fork
Explanation
A pitchfork is a large three-pronged tool used for gardening or farming. If you want to see an image of a pitchfork, just google an image of the famous painting "American Gothic." With a pitchfork, a farmer can easily scoop beneath a pile of hay or straw, lift it, and toss it into a pile. Most pitchforks have wooden handles and metal prongs, and they've been around since the Middle Ages. Back then, they were sometimes used as a weapon too. The word pitchfork comes from the "toss or throw" meaning of pitch, plus fork, from the Old English forca, "forked instrument or weapon."
Vocabulary lists containing pitchfork
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Much less familiar is Guglielmo of Malavalle, a twelfth century hermit venerated by the Augustinians for defeating a dragon using a simple wooden staff shaped like a pitchfork.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026
In a noticeable moment from “Cow,” a farmer baling hay strikes his pitchfork against a stone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
Still, there’s a difference between a burr in one’s saddle and feeling like you’re sitting right on top of three or four other teams each pointing a pitchfork at your backside.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
Washington’s defense barely survived Arizona State’s blunted pitchfork of an offense and will be facing much better units down the stretch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
Teddy asked, pulling out a pitchfork, a set of devil ears, a red tail, and a pair of red feetie pajamas.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Europe had shrugged him off; America raised pitchforks, and he smiled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
“Where’s our parade? All I see are pitchforks and ingratitude.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Still, it seems the villagers have put down their torches and pitchforks for now.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
Police officers on Thursday were seen holding pitchforks as they combed land in the area on the outskirts of the municipality of Lagos and some used pick-axes and shovels to dig some of the undergrowth.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2025
Against the right wall sat a single bed, a messy desk, and an open wardrobe filled with extra denim clothes and a stack of farm implements, like pitchforks and rakes.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
The moving tribute pitchforked the reclusive artist and his works onto the global stage.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2023
They pitchforked the pine straw around the snapdragons and verbena by the Saddlebrook sign.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 15, 2019
Tortorella said the questionable officiating “started with the noncall when Gaby’s walking in and gets pitchforked in the stomach, and then everything starts going against us.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 4, 2012
The devil finds work for idle actors, and this week he's pitchforked Nicolas Cage and Anthony Hopkins into satanic horror movies.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 27, 2011
They had been suddenly pitchforked into a position of the most supreme responsibility.
From The First Seven Divisions Being a Detailed Account of the Fighting from Mons to Ypres by Ernest W. Hamilton
“It’s kind of like snow,” said Wiley McFarland, 83, a longtime rancher and community leader who wearily recalls pitchforking thousands of the plants out of his irrigation ditches and cattle corrals during particularly bad years.
From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2011
I've come to apologize," said the Duchess, "for pitchforking a stranger into your room like this; but I'm sorry for the woman.
From Barnaby A Novel by R. Ramsay
When he drew near they put more spirit into their pitchforking.
From Fort Amity by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
