pitches

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of pitch.

   Her pitches to investors grew more confident with each presentation.

   The closer's fastball pitches clocked above ninety miles per hour.

   Note

   One plural covers two quite different families of noun. For the sticky substances, such as tree sap, the black residue left after distilling tar, or pitchstone, pitches means kinds or grades, since these mass nouns can also be counted. For a throw or a playing field, it simply counts them: several pitches in an inning, the pitches of a sports club. The field sense belongs to British, Australian and New Zealand usage. North Americans say fields.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of pitch.

   The company pitches its product to retailers across the country.

   Whenever the wind rises, the small boat pitches violently in the waves.

   Note

   Verbs of very different kinds share this form, so the object usually tells you which one is meant. A worker pitches a seam by coating it with tar. A thrower pitches a ball, and the object can drop away entirely: she pitches for the team means she plays as pitcher. The same transitive verb can also mean throwing something out, as when he pitches the old receipts.

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