pitch
1to erect or set up (a tent, camp, or the like).
to put, set, or plant in a fixed or definite place or position.
to throw, fling, hurl, or toss.
Baseball.
to deliver or serve (the ball) to the batter.
to fill the position of pitcher in (a game): He pitched a no-hitter. He pitched a good game.
to choose or assign as a pitcher for a game: The manager pitched Greene the next night.
to set at a certain point, degree, level, etc.: He pitched his hopes too high.
Music. to set at a particular pitch, or determine the key or keynote of (a melody).
Cards.
to lead (a card of a particular suit), thereby fixing that suit as trump.
to determine (the trump) in this manner.
to pave or revet with small stones.
Masonry.
to square (a stone), cutting the arrises true with a chisel.
to cut with a chisel.
Informal. to attempt to sell or win approval for; promote; advertise: to pitch breakfast foods at a sales convention.
Informal. to approach or court (as a person, company, or the public) in hope of a sale, approval, or interest; make an appeal to.
to cause to pitch.
Obsolete. to set in order; to arrange, as a field of battle.
Obsolete. to fix firmly as in the ground; embed.
to plunge or fall forward or headlong.
to lurch.
to throw or toss.
Baseball.
to deliver or serve the ball to the batter.
to fill the position of pitcher He pitched for the Mets last year.
to slope downward; dip.
to plunge with alternate fall and rise of bow and stern, as a ship (opposed to roll).
(of a rocket or guided missile) to deviate from a stable flight attitude by oscillations of the longitudinal axis in a vertical plane about the center of gravity.
to fix a tent or temporary habitation; encamp: They pitched by a mountain stream.
Golf. to play a pitch shot.
Informal. to attempt to sell or win approval for something or someone by advertising, promotion, etc.: politicians pitching on TV.
Rare. to become established; settle down.
relative point, position, or degree: a high pitch of excitement.
the degree of inclination or slope; angle: the pitch of an arch; the pitch of a stair.
the highest point or greatest height: enjoying the pitch of success.
(in music, speech, etc.) the degree of height or depth of a tone or of sound, depending upon the relative rapidity of the vibrations by which it is produced.
Music. the particular tonal standard with which given tones may be compared in respect to their relative level.
Acoustics. the apparent predominant frequency sounded by an acoustical source.
act or manner of pitching.
a throw or toss.
Baseball. the serving of the ball to the batter by the pitcher, usually preceded by a windup or stretch.
a pitching movement or forward plunge, as of a ship.
upward or downward inclination or slope: a road descending at a steep pitch.
a sloping part or place: to build on the pitch of a hill.
a quantity of something pitched or placed somewhere.
Cricket. the central part of the field; the area between the wickets.
Informal.
an often high-pressured talk or message intended to sell or win approval for something: a sales pitch for a new product;an email pitch to gain support for a proposal.
a specific plan of action; angle: to tackle a problem again, using a new pitch.
the specific location in which a person or object is placed or stationed; allotted or assigned place.
Chiefly British. the established location, often a street corner, of a beggar, street peddler, newspaper vendor, etc.
Aeronautics.
the nosing of an airplane or spacecraft up or down about a transverse axis.
the distance that a given propeller would advance in one revolution.
(of a rocket or guided missile)
the motion due to pitching.
the extent of the rotation of the longitudinal axis involved in pitching.
Also called plunge .Geology. the inclination of a linear feature, as the axis of a fold or an oreshoot, from the horizontal.
Machinery.
the distance between the corresponding surfaces of two adjacent gear teeth measured either along the pitch circle (circular pitch ) or between perpendiculars to the root surfaces (normal pitch ).
the ratio of the number of teeth in a gear or splined shaft to the pitch circle diameter, expressed in inches.
the distance between any two adjacent things in a series, as screw threads, rivets, etc.
(in carpet weaving) the weftwise number of warp ends, usually determined in relation to 27 inches (68.6 centimeters).
Cards.
Masonry. a true or even surface on a stone.
(of typewriter type) a unit of measurement indicating the number of characters to a horizontal inch: Pica is a 10-pitch type.
pitch in, Informal.
to begin to work in earnest and vigorously: If I really pitch in, I may be able to finish the paper before the deadline.
to contribute to a common cause; join in: When they took up a collection for the annual dinner, he promised to pitch in.
pitch into, Informal.
to attack verbally or physically: He apologized for pitching into me yesterday.
to begin to work on vigorously.
pitch on / upon to choose, especially casually or without forethought; decide on: We pitched on a day for our picnic.
Origin of pitch
1synonym study For pitch
Other words from pitch
- pitch·a·ble, adjective
Other definitions for pitch (2 of 2)
any of various dark, tenacious, and viscous substances for caulking and paving, consisting of the residue of the distillation of coal tar or wood tar.
any of certain bitumens, as asphalt: mineral pitch.
any of various resins.
the sap or crude turpentine that exudes from the bark of pines.
to smear or cover with pitch.
Origin of pitch
2Other words from pitch
- pitchlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for pitch (1 of 2)
/ (pɪtʃ) /
to hurl or throw (something); cast; fling
(usually tr) to set up (a camp, tent, etc)
(tr) to place or thrust (a stake, spear, etc) into the ground
(intr) to move vigorously or irregularly to and fro or up and down
(tr) to aim or fix (something) at a particular level, position, style, etc: if you advertise privately you may pitch the price too low
(tr) to aim to sell (a product) to a specified market or on a specified basis
(intr) to slope downwards
(intr) to fall forwards or downwards
(intr) (of a vessel) to dip and raise its bow and stern alternately
cricket to bowl (a ball) so that it bounces on a certain part of the wicket, or (of a ball) to bounce on a certain part of the wicket
(intr) (of a missile, aircraft, etc) to deviate from a stable flight attitude by movement of the longitudinal axis about the lateral axis: Compare yaw (def. 1), roll (def. 14)
(tr) (in golf) to hit (a ball) steeply into the air, esp with backspin to minimize roll
(tr) music
to sing or play accurately (a note, interval, etc)
(usually passive) (of a wind instrument) to specify or indicate its basic key or harmonic series by its size, manufacture, etc
(tr) cards to lead (a suit) and so determine trumps for that trick
baseball
(tr) to throw (a baseball) to a batter
(intr) to act as pitcher in a baseball game
Southwest English dialect (used with it as subject) to snow without the settled snow melting
in there pitching US and Canadian informal taking part with enthusiasm
pitch a tale or pitch a yarn to tell a story, usually of a fantastic nature
the degree of elevation or depression
the angle of descent of a downward slope
such a slope
the extreme height or depth
mountaineering a section of a route between two belay points, sometimes equal to the full length of the rope but often shorter
the degree of slope of a roof, esp when expressed as a ratio of height to span
the distance between corresponding points on adjacent members of a body of regular form, esp the distance between teeth on a gearwheel or between threads on a screw thread
the distance between regularly spaced objects such as rivets, bolts, etc
the pitching motion of a ship, missile, etc
the distance a propeller advances in one revolution, assuming no slip
the blade angle of a propeller or rotor
the distance between the back rest of a seat in a passenger aircraft and the back of the seat in front of it
music
the auditory property of a note that is conditioned by its frequency relative to other notes: high pitch; low pitch
an absolute frequency assigned to a specific note, fixing the relative frequencies of all other notes. The fundamental frequencies of the notes A–G, in accordance with the frequency A = 440 hertz, were internationally standardized and accepted in 1939: See also concert pitch (def. 1), international pitch
cricket the rectangular area between the stumps, 22 yards long and 10 feet wide; the wicket
geology the inclination of the axis of an anticline or syncline or of a stratum or vein from the horizontal
another name for seven-up
the act or manner of pitching a ball, as in cricket
mainly British a vendor's station, esp on a pavement
slang a persuasive sales talk, esp one routinely repeated
mainly British (in many sports) the field of play
Also called: pitch shot golf an approach shot in which the ball is struck in a high arc
make a pitch for US and Canadian slang
to give verbal support to
to attempt to attract (someone) sexually or romantically
queer someone's pitch British informal to upset someone's plans
Origin of pitch
1- See also pitch in, pitch into, pitch on
British Dictionary definitions for pitch (2 of 2)
/ (pɪtʃ) /
any of various heavy dark viscid substances obtained as a residue from the distillation of tars: See also coal-tar pitch
any of various similar substances, such as asphalt, occurring as natural deposits
any of various similar substances obtained by distilling certain organic substances so that they are incompletely carbonized
crude turpentine obtained as sap from pine trees: Related adjective: piceous
(tr) to apply pitch to (something)
Origin of pitch
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for pitch
[ pĭch ]
A thick, tarlike substance obtained by distilling coal tar, used for roofing, waterproofing, and paving.
Any of various natural bitumens, such as asphalt, having similar uses.
A resin derived from the sap of a cone-bearing tree, such as a pine.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with pitch
In addition to the idioms beginning with pitch
- pitched battle, a
- pitch in
- pitch into
- pitch on
- pitch woo
also see:
- black as night (pitch)
- in there pitching
- make a pitch for
- sales pitch
- wild pitch
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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