pitch

Less common meanings

13. 13
    tarnouncountable or uncountable

    A dark, very thick, sticky residue left after distilling tar or crude oil, used for sealing and waterproofing.

    Ancient boats were made watertight with pitch.

    The smell of pitch hung over the shipyard.

    Similartar, bitumen

    Note

    This is the substance inside pitch-black: the compound measures deep darkness against it. Its working life is sealing and protecting: masts are coated with it and barrels closed with it, and covering a surface this way is simply called pitching it. It shares its ancestry, Latin pix, with the tree resin: one old word for two sticky materials. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Pitch-black contains pitch in its tar-like substance sense. en.wiktionary.org
    • Pitch is used for waterproofing and protecting ships, including their masts. en.wikipedia.org
    • Pitch is used to seal barrels. cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com
    • Applying pitch to a surface is called pitching it. en.wikisource.org
    • The tar-like substance and tree-resin senses share an ancestry in Latin pix. en.wiktionary.org
14. 14
    rock up and downverbtransitive or intransitive

    Of a ship or aircraft, to rock so that the bow or nose rises and falls; also to cause such motion.

    The ferry pitched so badly that half the passengers were sick.

    Storm waves can pitch a trawler until its propeller leaves the water.

    Similartoss, lurch, rock, plunge, heave

    Note

    Rough water's verb: the bow or nose rises and falls, and the angle of pitch keeps changing. It works both ways, as in 'the airplane pitched' or 'the typhoon pitched the deck'. Melville gives Ahab an 'ever-pitching prow', and in H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds deserted boats 'pitched aimlessly upon the confusion of the waves'. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Melville uses 'ever-pitching prow' of the ship commanded by Ahab in Moby-Dick; the phrase occurs in narration. gutenberg.org
    • H. G. Wells wrote The War of the Worlds. gutenberg.org
    • The War of the Worlds describes deserted boats with the exact quoted wording; this is narration. gutenberg.org
15. 15
    throw (anything)verbtransitive

    To throw something, especially with a full swing; to fling or toss.

    Farmhands pitched hay onto the wagon with long forks.

    He learned to pitch horseshoes at his grandfather's farm.

    Similarthrow, hurl, fling, cast, chuck

16. 16
    noununcountable

    The angle by which a ship or aircraft is rotated about its side-to-side axis, tilting its bow or nose up or down.

    The autopilot holds pitch and roll steady in cruise.

    Sensors measure the ship's pitch several times a second.

    Note

    Pilots and sailors treat it as one of three attitudes, alongside roll and yaw, and each is a turn about a different axis. This one runs crosswise, from side to side of the craft. The noun names the measured state, while the rocking verb names the movement, so a vessel that pitches in heavy seas keeps changing its pitch. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Pitch, roll, and yaw describe rotations about different axes of a craft. en.wikipedia.org
    • The pitch axis runs crosswise through the craft, from side to side. www1.grc.nasa.gov
17. 17
    spacingnouncountable or uncountable

    The spacing of evenly repeated things (saw or gear teeth, screw threads, holes, pixels, or characters in a fixed-width font) measured from one to the next.

    Metric bolts are described by diameter and thread pitch.

    On a monitor, the pitch between neighboring pixels sets how fine the detail can be.

    Similarspacing, interval

    Note

    Engineers measure it from one tooth, thread, hole or character to the next, and it moves easily between trades: from saw teeth and screw threads to the spacing of pixels on a screen, and into scanning, where a helical scan with a pitch of zero never advances and so amounts to scanning at one fixed position. A saw's pitch suits one wood and not another, so the number is chosen as much as measured. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • A helical scan with zero pitch has no axial advance and scans at a fixed axial position. cockcroft.ac.uk
    • Suitable saw pitch depends on the wood being cut and is therefore a design or selection choice. unido.org
18. 18
    nouncountable

    In climbing, a section of a route or rock face; specifically, the distance climbed between two belay points or stances.

    The crux comes on the third pitch, a long crack.

    Each pitch is roughly the length of the rope.

    Similarsection, stretch

    Note

    The climber's unit of a route: the stretch led from one belay or stance to the next, so routes are counted in pitches. Anthony Greenbank's Instructions in Mountaineering (1967) describes partners who lead through, taking alternate pitches instead of handing back the lead at each stance. Railway writing has a related use, in which pitches of 1 in 40 are stretches of steep gradient. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Anthony Greenbank wrote Instructions in Mountaineering, first published in 1967. openlibrary.org
    • Greenbank describes leading through: the second joins the leader and continues ahead, so the partners lead alternate pitches. en.wiktionary.org
    • Railway writing uses pitches for stretches of gradient, including stretches at 1 in 40. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    nouncountable

    A throw or toss, especially of something cast from the hand, as in games such as quoits.

    A lucky pitch of the horseshoe won him the match.

    His opening pitch in the horseshoe match clanged off the stake and rolled into the dirt.

    Similarthrow, toss, cast

20. 20
    throw awayverbtransitive

    To throw something away; to discard it, especially casually.

    We pitched half the files when the office moved.

    Don't pitch that box; the receipt is in it.

    Similardiscard, dump, toss, chuck, scrap

    Oppositekeep, retain

21. 21
    set at a slantverbtransitive

    To set something at an angle, especially a downward one; to cause it to tilt or slope.

    Sidewalks are pitched slightly toward the road so that water drains.

    When you install the gutter, pitch it slightly toward the downspout so water drains instead of pooling.

    Similarslope, tilt, slant, angle, incline

    Oppositelevel

    Note

    Tilt given on purpose, as when a surface is set at a slope. In the passive it shades toward being thrown. Don Kostelec warns (2020) that a driveway cross slope of nearly 9% could leave a wheelchair user pitched into the street. That use sits close to the falling verb. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Don Kostelec published the warning in 2020. en.wiktionary.org
    • Kostelec warned that driveway cross slopes approaching 9% could cause a wheelchair user to be pitched into the street. en.wiktionary.org
22. 22
    nouncountable or uncountable

    A sticky, resinous substance exuded by trees, especially conifers; resin or sap.

    Hikers scraped the pitch off their trousers with a knife.

    Native peoples used pine pitch to seal their canoes.

    Similarresin, sap, gum

    Note

    The word goes back through Old English piċ to Latin pix, which may be related to Latin pīnus, "pine", and is related to Greek píssa, "pitch, tar", a kinship that suits a resin that trees ooze. The same root lies behind the distilled residue too. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Pitch descends through Old English piċ from Latin pix. en.wiktionary.org
    • The tree-resin and distillation-residue senses share the same etymology. en.wiktionary.org
23. 23
    verbintransitive

    To plunge or fall, especially forward, or to slope downward.

    When the bus braked hard, standing passengers began to pitch toward the front.

    Behind the house the yard pitches sharply down to the creek.

    Similarlurch, plunge, slope, tumble

24. 24
    nouncountable

    In golf, a short shot struck high into the air that checks with backspin when it lands.

    From forty yards out on the fairway, his pitch dropped onto the green and stopped dead beside the pin.

    Facing a tight pin just over a bunker, she lofted a high pitch that landed past the flag and spun back to within two feet.

    Note

    The high, soft shot of golf's short game. The ball spends most of its flight in the air and checks when it lands, so it suits a hole where a bunker or rough lies in front of the green. A chip is its low counterpart, a shot that stays near the ground and runs toward the hole. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A pitch is a high short-game shot with more carry than roll and little rollout after landing. pnwpga.com
    • A pitch is suitable for clearing rough or a bunker near the green. rjwiegand.com
    • A chip has a short, low flight followed by a roll toward the hole. en.wikipedia.org
25. 25
    verbtransitive

    In golf, to play the ball with a short, high, lofted shot that lands with backspin.

    When the green slopes away from you, pitch the ball high so it stops quickly.

    He pitched his approach to within six feet of the hole.

    Similarloft

    Note

    As a verb it takes the ball or the shot as its object, and it usually comes with a word for the obstacle or the target: pitch the ball over the bunker, pitch an approach to within six feet. Golfers choose it when the green slopes away or when there is no room to let the ball roll. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • Golfers choose a pitch shot when the green slopes away. bobburnsgolf.com
    • Golfers choose a pitch shot when there is little room for the ball to roll. bobburnsgolf.com
26. 26
    verbintransitive

    In cricket, of a bowled ball, to bounce on the playing surface.

    Spinners try to make every ball pitch on a good length and turn away from the bat.

    The delivery pitched outside off stump and cut back sharply.

    Similarbounce, land

    Note

    Cricket talk about where a bowled ball lands: it pitches short, pitches on a good length, pitches outside off stump. The spot is also called the pitch of the ball, though the pitch is also the strip in the middle of the field. Where a ball pitches decides how it reaches the batsman. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The spot where a ball bounces is also called its pitch. en.wikipedia.org
    • The cricket pitch is the central strip of the field. en.wikipedia.org
    • Where the ball bounces affects how it reaches the batsman. en.wikipedia.org
27. 27
    nouncountable

    An area in a market or similar place that is assigned to a particular trader.

    Traders arrived before dawn to set up their stalls on their usual pitches.

    A pitch near the entrance of the craft fair costs twice as much as one at the back.

    Similarspot, site

    Note

    The word comes from the verb meaning to thrust in, fasten or settle, which explains its family of allotted spots: a trader's place at a market, a tent's plot at a campsite, a street performer's corner. Stall is the structure; pitch is the ground it stands on. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

    • The place noun derives from a verb meaning to thrust in, fasten or settle. en.wiktionary.org
28. 28
    nouncountable

    The place in public where a street performer performs, a prostitute solicits clients, or an illegal gambling game or similar is set up.

    Every busker in the square knew which pitch drew the biggest lunchtime crowd.

    The shell-game crew changed pitches whenever a patrol car came into view.

    Similarspot

    Note

    An extension of the market trader's spot to anyone who works the street: busker, card sharp or sex worker. The phrase make one's pitch fits neatly here, as in Tom A. Cullen's The Prostitutes' Padre (1975), where a woman "makes her pitch at Marble Arch", because it also suggests the sales pitch. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The street-working sense is an extension of the market-trader sense. en.wiktionary.org
    • Tom A. Cullen wrote The Prostitutes' Padre, first published in 1975. openlibrary.org
    • The book describes a prostitute using the exact words quoted, including the place name Marble Arch. en.wiktionary.org
29. 29
    verbintransitive

    To sound a note at a particular point on the range from low to high, or to set a voice, note, or tune at such a level.

    As the choir tired near the end of the concert, the sopranos began to pitch slightly flat.

    His voice pitched higher with every question the reporters threw at him.

    Similarsound, sing

    Note

    Fitzgerald uses it in The Great Gatsby (1925), where over yellow cocktail music the opera of voices pitches a key higher. With an object it means setting the level of a sound, as when someone pitches their voice low. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby. gutenberg.org
    • The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925. commons.wikimedia.org
    • The novel uses “pitches a key higher” of an “opera of voices” while an orchestra plays “yellow cocktail music.” gutenberg.org
30. 30
    noun

    In aviation, the angle of a propeller blade relative to its plane of rotation; a measure of how steeply the blades bite into the air.
31. 31
    verb

    To settle on or decide upon something; to fix one's choice, used with 'on' or 'upon'.

    Pitch upon the best course of life, and custom will render it the more easy.

    a. 1694, John Tillotson, The Precepts of Christianity not grievous
32. 32
    noun

    Prominence, weight, or importance; now literary, and best known from Hamlet's 'enterprises of great pitch and moment'.

    Enterprises of great pitch and moment.

    c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”
33. 33
    verb

    In brewing, to introduce yeast into a batch of beer as one stage of the process.
34. 34
    noun

    A glassy volcanic rock with a dull, resin-like shine.
35. 35
    verb

    To spread a layer of pitch over something.
36. 36
    verb

    To make something dark or murky.
37. 37
    nounrare

    The ground where a battle is fought.

    Every other day they would spend half of the training hours on the battle pitch.

    2015, SK Benton, Lives of Future-Past
38. 38
    noun

    The highest or lowest point that something reaches, an extreme of height or depth.
39. 39
    noun

    The tip of a promontory where it reaches farthest out to sea.
40. 40
    nounobsolete

    The parts of the body that stick out farthest at the sides, mainly at shoulder or hip level.

    Such breadth of ſhoulders as might mainely beare Olde Atlas burthen, twixt his manly pitch, A pearle more worth, then all the world is plaſte:

    c. 1587, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part
41. 41
    noun

    The height a hawk or other bird of prey climbs to before diving at its quarry.
42. 42
    noundialectalBritish

    The height or stature of a person or animal.
43. 43
    noun

    A sheer underground shaft that cavers can climb only with ropes or ladders.
44. 44
    noun

    The spot where a bowled ball strikes the ground.
45. 45
    noun

    A downward plunge or fall.
46. 46
    noun

    The patch of ground a miner is given to work, being paid with part of the ore it produces.
47. 47
    verb

    Of snow, to land and stay on the ground, piling up instead of melting.
48. 48
    verbarchaic

    To land and settle after flying, as a bird or bee does.

    the tree whereon they [the bees] pitch

    1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry
49. 49
    verb

    To surface a sloping bank or a road using broken rock and rough, unworked stones.
50. 50
    verb

    To decide on what something will cost or be worth.
51. 51
    verbslang

    In card games, to give up a card in order to gain some advantage.
52. 52
    verb

    To launch an attack, or to draw up forces ready to attack.
53. 53
    noun

    The member of an unaccompanied vocal group who sounds a reference note that the others tune to.
54. 54
    verb

    To establish the key or tone in which something is sung or spoken.