| pinch-hit | |
| —vb , -hits, -hitting, -hit | |
| 1. | baseball to bat as a substitute for the scheduled batter |
| 2. | informal (US), (Canadian) 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 |
| pinch hitter | |
| —n | |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
pinch hitter definition
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pinch hitter
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]