What does "pitch" mean?
A sticky, gummy substance secreted by trees; sap.
Pitch
/pɪt͡ʃ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sticky, gummy substance secreted by trees; sap.
- Grammar: pitch is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: slant, tar, abuse, acme.
- Useful contrasts: batting, buy.
- Usage evidence: Everybody will have to pitch in to save the environment.
How to use "pitch"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pitch" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pitch" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pitch" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pitch" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pitch" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "slant" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pitch", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sticky, gummy substance secreted by trees; sap. countable, uncountable
"It is hard to get this pitch off my hand."
- 2 A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand.
"a good pitch in quoits"
- 3 The perceived frequency of a sound, note or electromagnetic wave. countable, uncountable
"The pitch of middle "C" is familiar to many musicians."
- 4 the action or manner of throwing something wordnet
- 5 A dark, extremely viscous material still remaining after distilling crude oil or natural tar. countable, uncountable
"Near-synonyms: tar, coal tar, asphalt, bitumen"
Show 38 more definitions
- 6 The act of pitching a baseball.
"The pitch was low and inside."
- 7 The standard to which a group of musical instruments are tuned or in which a piece is performed, usually by reference to the frequency to which the musical note A above middle C is tuned. countable, uncountable
"Are we in baroque pitch for this one?"
- 8 the act of throwing a baseball or softball by the pitcher towards home plate, which initiates play by giving the batter a chance to hit it wordnet
- 9 Pitchstone. countable, uncountable
- 10 The field on which cricket, soccer, rugby, gridiron or field hockey is played. (In cricket, the pitch is in the centre of the field; see cricket pitch.) (Not often used in the US or Canada, where "field" is the preferred word.) Australia, New-Zealand, UK
"The teams met on the pitch."
- 11 In an a cappella group, the singer responsible for singing a note for the other members to tune themselves by. countable, uncountable
"Bob, our pitch, let out a clear middle "C" and our conductor gave the signal to start."
- 12 abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other conveyance) wordnet
- 13 A short, high, lofty shot that lands with backspin.
- 14 an all-fours game in which the first card led is a trump wordnet
- 15 The field of battle. rare
"“The two men of Alltraighe maintain, Two chiefs of the plain of Kerry, A clan the most active in pitch of battle, Their chiefs are O’Neide and Clan Conary.”"
- 16 a high approach shot in golf wordnet
- 17 An effort to sell or promote something.
"He gave me a sales pitch."
- 18 the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration wordnet
- 19 The distance between evenly spaced objects, e.g. the teeth of a saw or gear, the turns of a screw thread, the centres of holes, or letters in a monospace font.
"The pitch of pixels on the point scale is 72 pixels per inch."
- 20 degree of deviation from a horizontal plane wordnet
- 21 The angle at which an object sits.
"the pitch of the roof or haystack"
- 22 promotion by means of an argument and demonstration wordnet
- 23 The rotation angle about the transverse axis.; The degree to which a vehicle, especially a ship or aircraft, rotates on such an axis, tilting its bow or nose up or down.
"the pitch of an aircraft"
- 24 a sports field with predetermined dimensions for playing soccer wordnet
- 25 The rotation angle about the transverse axis.; A measure of the angle of attack of a propeller.
"The propeller blades' pitch went to 90° as the engine was feathered."
- 26 a vendor's position (especially on the sidewalk) wordnet
- 27 An area in a market (or similar) allocated to a particular trader.
- 28 any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a residue wordnet
- 29 The place where a busker performs, a prostitute solicits clients, or an illegal gambling game etc. is set up before the public. broadly
"Another reason is that the prostitute who makes her pitch at Marble Arch stands a chance of being picked up by an out-of-town business man stopping at one of the hotels in the vicinity, and of being treated to a steak dinner […]"
- 30 An area on a campsite intended for occupation by a single tent, caravan or similar.
- 31 A level or degree, or (by extension), a peak or highest degree.
"He lived at a time when learning was at its highest pitch."
- 32 A point or peak; the extreme point of elevation or depression.
"Driven headlong from the pitch of heaven, down / Into this deep."
- 33 The most thrust-out point of a headland or cape.
"From the pitch of Cape-Fraward, to the pitch of Cape-Holland, the Streight lies in the Channel West and by North, nearest, and is distant full five Leagues;"
- 34 Collectively, the outermost points of some part of the body, especially the shoulders or hips. obsolete, uncountable
"Such breadth of ſhoulders as might mainely beare Olde Atlas burthen, twixt his manly pitch, A pearle more worth, then all the world is plaſte:"
- 35 The height a bird reaches in flight, especially a bird of prey preparing to swoop down on its prey.
- 36 A person's or animal's height. British, regional
"Alba the emperor was crook-backed, Epictetus lame; that great Alexander a little man of stature, Augustus Cæsar of the same pitch […]."
- 37 Prominence; importance.
"Enterprises of great pitch and moment."
- 38 A section of a climb or rock face; specifically, the climbing distance between belays or stances.
"The line turns a sharp right-angle to the north to circumvent the town, and then plunges straight into the 1 in 50, which lasts for nearly 20 miles with few intermissions, and some pitches of 1 in 40."
- 39 A vertical cave passage, only negotiable by using rope or ladders.
"The entrance pitch requires 30 metres of rope."
- 40 That point of the ground on which the ball pitches or lights when bowled.
- 41 A descent; a fall; a thrusting down.
- 42 The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent or slope; slant.
"a steep pitch in the road"
- 43 The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out.
Verb
- 1 To cover or smear with pitch.
"“Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.”"
- 2 To throw. transitive
"He pitched the horseshoe."
- 3 To produce a note of a given pitch. intransitive
"[…] now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher."
- 4 set the level or character of wordnet
- 5 To darken; to blacken; to obscure.
"1704 (published), year written unknown, John Dryden, On the Death of Amyntas Soon he found / The welkin pitch'd with sullen clouds."
Show 32 more definitions
- 6 To throw (the ball) toward a batter at home plate. intransitive, transitive
"The hurler pitched a curveball."
- 7 To fix or set the tone of. transitive
"His "hello" was enough to recognize his voice by. I pitched mine low so he wouldn't know it."
- 8 set to a certain pitch wordnet
- 9 To play baseball in the position of pitcher. intransitive
"Bob pitches today."
- 10 lead (a card) and establish the trump suit wordnet
- 11 To throw away; discard. transitive
"He pitched the candy wrapper."
- 12 hit (a golf ball) in a high arc with a backspin wordnet
- 13 To promote, advertise, or attempt to sell. transitive
"He pitched the idea for months with no takers."
- 14 throw or hurl from the mound to the batter, as in baseball wordnet
- 15 To deliver in a certain tone or style, or with a certain audience in mind. transitive
"At which level should I pitch my presentation?"
- 16 throw or toss with a light motion wordnet
- 17 To assemble or erect (a tent). Also used figuratively. transitive
"Pitch the tent over there."
- 18 erect and fasten wordnet
- 19 To fix or place a tent or temporary habitation; to encamp. intransitive
"Laban with his brethren pitched in the Mount of Gilead."
- 20 move abruptly wordnet
- 21 To move so that the front of an aircraft or boat goes alternately up and down. ambitransitive
"The typhoon pitched the deck of the ship."
- 22 heel over wordnet
- 23 To set at an angle, especially a downwards one; to cause to tilt. transitive
"Driveway cross slopes along Owyhee Street in Boise reach nearly 9%, which could cause a person in a wheelchair or using another mobility device to be pitched into the street. The cross slope should be no greater than 2% in order to prevent this."
- 24 fall or plunge forward wordnet
- 25 To play a short, high, lofty shot that lands with backspin. transitive
"The only way to get on the green from here is to pitch the ball over the bunker."
- 26 be at an angle wordnet
- 27 To bounce on the playing surface. intransitive
"The ball pitched well short of the batsman."
- 28 sell or offer for sale from place to place wordnet
- 29 To settle and build up, without melting. intransitive
- 30 To alight; to settle; to come to rest from flight. archaic, intransitive
"the tree whereon they [the bees] pitch"
- 31 To fix one's choice.
"Pitch upon the best course of life, and custom will render it the more easy."
- 32 To plunge or fall; especially, to fall forward; to decline or slope. intransitive
"to pitch from a precipice"
- 33 To set, face, or pave (an embankment or roadway) with rubble or undressed stones. transitive
"[…]pitch the road with hard stones [rather] than to break them up for a road covering"
- 34 To set or fix (a price or value). transitive
"Whose vultur thought doth pitch the price so hie, That she will draw his lips rich treasure drie."
- 35 To discard (a card) for some gain. slang, transitive
- 36 To attack, or position or assemble for attack.
"They pitched at the waters of Merom. These waters of Merom are generally thought to be nothing but the lake of Semechon,[…]"
- 37 To add yeast as a step while making beer
"except for the cell growth which is higher for the yeast pitched with lower vitality"
Adjective
- 1 Very dark black; pitch-black.
"For quotations using this term, see Citations:pitch."
- 2 Intense, deep, dark.
"Then I got back here - difficulty again: no trolly-bus, and and black pitcher than black - and have since been conning the Beveridge Report."
Example
"Everybody will have to pitch in to save the environment."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pitch"?
Common synonyms include: slant, tar, abuse, acme, address, af.
How do you use "pitch" in a sentence?
Everybody will have to pitch in to save the environment.
How do you pronounce "pitch"?
Pronounced /pɪt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English picche, piche, pich, from Old English piċ, from Proto-West Germanic *pik, from Latin pix. Cognate with Ancient Greek πίσσα (píssa, “pitch, tar”), Latin pīnus (“pine”). More at pine. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Pik (“pitch, tar”), Dutch pek (“pitch, tar”), German Low German Pick (“pitch, tar”), German Pech (“pitch, tar”), Catalan pega (“pitch”), Spanish pegar (“to stick, glue”), Franco-Provençal pouatche (“sap from a pine”) and French poix (“sap”). The adjective is probably back-formed from pitch-black, reinterpreting "pitch" as meaning "intense(ly)".
Etymology 2
From Middle English picchen, pycchen (“to thrust in, fasten, settle”), from Old English *piċċan, from Proto-West Germanic *pikkijan, a variant of Proto-West Germanic *pikkōn (“to pick, peck”), whence Middle English pikken, picken (“to pick, pierce”), modern English pick.
Etymology 3
Unknown. Perhaps from the above sense of "inclination", "level", or "degree", or influenced by it.