pickoff

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noun

A play in which a pitcher throws a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who has moved away from the base

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Meanings

nounpickoff (plural pickoffs)

plural pickoffs

  1. ball gamesA play in which a pitcher throws a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who has moved away from the base

    Zobrist broke for third during Pettitte’s pickoff move, stealing the base when Pettitte threw behind the runner.

    2007 April 6, Tyler Kepner, “Pettitte’s Return Lost Amid Sloppy Play”, in New York Times
  2. The rescue of a stranded caver from a rope, returning them to the ground.

Origin

Deverbal from pick off.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pickoff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pickoff

MLA

“pickoff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pickoff. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pickoff,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pickoff.

Source: pickoff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.