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- DictionaryPitch/piCH/
noun
- 1. the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone: "a car engine seems to change pitch downward as the vehicle passes you"
- ▪ a standard degree of highness or lowness used in performance: "the guitars were strung and tuned to pitch"
- 2. the steepness of a slope, especially of a roof.
- ▪ a section of a climb, especially a steep one.
- ▪ the height to which a hawk soars before swooping on its prey.
- 3. the level of intensity of something: "he brought the machine to a high pitch of development"
- ▪ a very high degree of: "rousing herself to a pitch of indignation"
- 4. a playing field. British
- ▪ the strip of ground between the two sets of stumps: "both batsmen were stranded in the middle of the pitch"
- 5. a legal delivery of the ball by the pitcher.
- ▪ a high approach shot on to the green.
- ▪ short for pitchout
- 6. a form of words used when trying to persuade someone to buy or accept something: "a good sales pitch"
- 7. a swaying or oscillation of a ship, aircraft, or vehicle around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of motion: "the pitch and roll of the ship"
- 8. the distance between successive corresponding points or lines, e.g., between the teeth of a cogwheel. technical
- ▪ a measure of the angle of the blades of a screw propeller, equal to the distance forward a blade would move in one revolution if it exerted no thrust on the medium.
- ▪ the density of typed or printed characters on a line, typically expressed as numbers of characters per inch.
verb
- 1. throw (the ball) for the batter to try to hit.
- ▪ be a pitcher: "she pitched in a minor-league game"
- ▪ hit (the ball) onto the green with a pitch shot.
- ▪ (of the ball) strike the ground in a particular spot.
- 2. throw or fling roughly or casually: "he crumpled the page up and pitched it into the fireplace" Similar throwtossflinghurlcastloblaunchflipshydashaimdirectpropelbowlinformal:chuckslingheavebuzzwhangbungyeetpeghoybish
- ▪ fall heavily, especially headlong: "she pitched forward into blackness" Similar fallfall headlongtumbletoppleplungeplummetdivetake a nosedivenosedive
- 3. set (one's voice or a piece of music) at a particular pitch: "you've pitched the melody very high"
- ▪ express at a particular level of difficulty: "he should pitch his talk at a suitable level for the age group"
- ▪ aim (a product) at a particular section of the market: "the machine is being pitched at banks"
- 4. make a bid to obtain a contract or other business: "they were pitching for an account"
- 5. set up and fix in a definite position: "we pitched camp for the night" Similar put upset uperectraisepositionfix in positionplacelocateset up camp
- 6. (of a moving ship, aircraft, or vehicle) rock or oscillate around a lateral axis, so that the front and back move up and down: "the little steamer pressed on, pitching gently" Similar lurchtoss (around)plungerollreelswayrockflounderkeellistwallowlaborpitchpole
- ▪ (of a vehicle) move with a vigorous jogging motion: "a jeep came pitching down the hill"
- 7. cause (a roof) to slope downward from the ridge: "the roof was pitched at an angle of 75 degrees"
- ▪ slope downward: "the ravine pitches down to the creek"
Word Origin Middle English (as a verb in the senses ‘thrust (something pointed) into the ground’ and ‘fall headlong’): perhaps related to Old English picung ‘stigmata’, of unknown ultimate origin. The sense development is obscure.
Scrabble Points: 12
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