pitcher

noun

USPICH-ur/ˈpɪt͡ʃ.ɚ/UKPICH-uh/ˈpɪtʃ.ə/

Pluralpitchers

11 meanings of pitcher

Practice

1
nouncountable
The player on a baseball team who throws the ball for the batter to hit.
Like the player who serves first in a game, sending the ball toward the other side.
The pitcher threw a fast ball right over the plate.
Our team's pitcher struck out three batters in a row.
Similarhurler
Note
2
nouncountable
A deep container for holding drinks, with a handle and a lip for pouring.
Like a big cup with a handle that you tip to pour drinks into smaller cups.
She filled the pitcher with cold lemonade for the picnic.
He poured water from the pitcher into each glass.
Similarjug, ewer, carafe
Note
3
nouncountable
A person who suggests an idea or plan to get other people to agree to it.
Like a salesperson trying to get you to say yes to something.
The pitcher convinced the investors to fund her new app.
As the main pitcher, he explained the plan to the whole room.
Similarpresenter, promoter
4
nouncountable
A person who throws or tosses something at or toward a target.
As the pitcher of the horseshoes, he aimed carefully at the stake.
Each pitcher took turns tossing beanbags at the wooden board.
Similarthrower
Note
5
nouncolloquialUScountable
The partner who takes the active, penetrating role in sex between two men.
He described himself as the pitcher in the relationship.
Among his friends, he was known as the pitcher rather than the catcher.
Similartop
Oppositecatcher, bottom
Note
6
nounslangcountable
A person who sells illegal drugs.
The pitcher sold small packets on the same corner every night.
Police arrested a known pitcher near the school.
Similardealer, pusher
Note
7
nouncountable
A tube- or cup-shaped part that grows from the leaves of some plants.
Like a deep cup growing on a plant that catches insects instead of holding a drink.
An insect fell into the plant's pitcher and could not climb out.
Each pitcher fills with rainwater that helps trap bugs.
Note
8
nounpronunciation spelling
Pronunciation spelling of picture. It shows how some people say the word out loud.
"Hold still so I can take your pitcher," Grandma said.
"Let me take a pitcher of y'all before you go," Aunt May said.
Note

Less common meanings

9
nounobsoleteUK
A person who sells things in the streets.
Like someone with a small stall who sells things to people outside on the street.
The pitcher sold ribbons and pins from a tray near the market.
A pitcher called out his prices along the crowded lane.
Note
10
nounobsoleteUK
A person who passes fake money to others as if it were real.
Like someone who tricks shops by paying with money that only looks real.
The pitcher passed a fake coin to the unsuspecting shopkeeper.
Every pitcher in the gang spent the forged notes at busy fairs.
Note
11
nounobsolete
A heavy iron bar used for digging holes in hard ground.
Like a strong metal bar you push into the ground to break it up.
He drove the pitcher into the rocky soil to loosen it.
She used a pitcher to dig out the old fence posts.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of pitcher apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 3–6, 9–11

From the word "pitch" plus the ending "-er."

Meanings 2, 7

From Middle English "picher," from Old French "pichier" meaning a small jug.