|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
pitch
pitch1 / pich/ • n. 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. See also concert pitch. 2. the steepness of a slope, esp. of a roof. ∎ Climbing a section of a climb, esp. a steep one. ∎ the height to which a hawk soars before swooping on its prey. 3. [in sing.] the level of intensity of something: he brought the machine to a high pitch of development. ∎ (a pitch of) a very high degree of: rousing herself to a pitch of indignation. 4. Baseball a legal delivery of the ball by the pitcher. ∎ (also pitch shot) Golf a high approach shot onto the green. ∎ Football short for pitchout sense 2. 5. Brit. a playing field. ∎ Cricket the strip of ground between the two sets of stumps. 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 degree of slope or angle, as of a roof. 8. technical the distance between successive corresponding points or lines, e.g., between the teeth of a cogwheel. ∎ 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. • v. 1. [tr.] Baseball throw (the ball) for the batter to try to hit. ∎ Baseball assign (a player) to pitch. ∎ [intr.] be a pitcher: she pitched in a minor-league game | [tr.] he pitched the entire game. ∎ Golf hit (the ball) onto the green with a pitch shot. ∎ [intr.] Golf (of the ball) strike the ground in a particular spot. 2. [tr.] throw or fling roughly or casually: he crumpled the page up and pitched it into the fireplace. ∎ [intr.] fall heavily, esp. headlong: she pitched forward into blackness. 3. [tr.] 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. [intr.] make a bid to obtain a contract or other business: they were pitching for an account. 5. [tr.] set up and fix in a definite position: we pitched camp for the night. 6. [intr.] (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. ∎ (of a vehicle) move with a vigorous jogging motion: a jeep came pitching down the hill. 7. [tr.] cause (a roof) to slope downward from the ridge: the roof was pitched at an angle of 75 degrees | [as adj.] (pitched) a pitched roof. ∎ [intr.] slope downward: the ravine pitches down to the creek. PHRASES: make a pitch make a bid to obtain a contract or other business.PHRASAL VERBS: pitch in inf. vigorously join in to help with a task or activity. ∎ join in a fight or dispute. pitch into inf. vigorously tackle or begin to deal with. ∎ forcefully assault. pitch out throw a pitchout. pitch2 • n. a sticky resinous black or dark brown substance that is semiliquid when hot, hard when cold. It is obtained by distilling tar or petroleum and is used for waterproofing. ∎ any of various similar substances, such as asphalt or bitumen. ∎ a sticky resinous sap from a conifer. • v. [tr.] cover, coat, or smear with pitch. |
|
|
Cite this article
"pitch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pitch.html "pitch." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pitch.html |
|
pitch
pitch n. a swaying or oscillation of a ship, aircraft, or vehicle around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of motion.
v. 1. (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. 2. (of a vehicle) move with a vigorous jogging motion: a jeep came pitching down the hill. pitch in join in a fight or dispute. pitch into forcefully assault. |
|
|
Cite this article
"pitch." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitch." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-pitch.html "pitch." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-pitch.html |
|
pitch
pitch,
1. A mixture of tar and coarse resin, fluid when heated and hard when cooled, used to cover the oakum when caulking the seams of a vessel's deck or sides. 2. Pitch of a propeller, the distance a propeller screws forward in one revolution assuming there is no slip. 3. As a verb, describes the motion of a ship when a wave lifts its bows and then, after passing down its length, subsequently lifts its stern, giving it a rocking motion. |
|
|
Cite this article
"pitch." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitch." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-pitch.html "pitch." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-pitch.html |
|
pitch
pitch.
1. Amount of slope given to any part of a roof. 2. Tenacious black resinous substance, hard when cold, becoming a thick viscid semiliquid when heated: it is obtained as a residue from the boiling or distillation of tar. It is used in its melted form to protect external timbers, e.g. clap-boarding or weather-boarding, and, if mixed with ground chalk, sand, and tar, for surfacing roads, etc. |
|
|
Cite this article
JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pitch." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pitch." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-pitch.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "pitch." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-pitch.html |
|
pitch
pitch2 †thrust or fix in; fix and erect XIII; set in order or in a fixed place; cast, throw XIV. The ME. conjugation pic(c)he, pihte, (i)piht suggests the existence of an OE. *piċċ(e)an, rel. to picung ‘stigmata’, of unkn. orig.
Hence pitch sb. act of pitching; inclination, slope XV; highest point; position taken up XVI. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pitch1.html T. F. HOAD. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pitch1.html |
|
pitch
pitch a sticky resinous black or dark brown substance that is semi-liquid when hot and hardens when cold, taken as the type of blackness or darkness (as in pitch-dark, pitch-black).
See also he that touches pitch shall be defiled. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pitch." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pitch." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pitch.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pitch." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pitch.html |
|
pitch
pitch1 black or dark brown resinous substance. OE. piċ, corr. to OS. pik (Du. pek), OHG. peh (G. pech), ON. bik, Gmc. — L. pix, pic-.
Hence vb. OE. (ġe)piċian. |
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pitch.html T. F. HOAD. "pitch." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pitch.html |
|
pitch
|
|
|
Cite this article
AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "pitch." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "pitch." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-pitch.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "pitch." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-pitch.html |
|
pitch
|
|
|
Cite this article
"pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-pitch1.html "pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-pitch1.html |
|
pitch
pitch see tar and pitch . |
|
|
Cite this article
"pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-pitch3.html "pitch." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-pitch3.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
