Pickoff

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    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

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

  2. 2
    The rescue of a stranded caver from a rope, returning them to the ground.

Example

More examples

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

Etymology

Deverbal from pick off.

Related phrases

live balltag out

More for "pickoff"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.