Definition

1. Noun:
   • A container for pouring liquids: An open vessel, typically made of glass, ceramic, or metal, with a handle and a spout, used for holding and pouring liquids.
   • A baseball player: The player on a baseball team who throws the ball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher for the batter to try to hit.
   • A modified leaf structure: In botany, a leaf that is modified into a deep, hollow, tube-like shape, often containing fluid, used by some plants to trap insects.
   • A quantity: The amount of liquid that a pitcher container can hold.

Usage Examples

• As a container:
  • She filled the pitcher with lemonade for the guests.
  • Please pass the water pitcher.
• As a baseball player:
  • The pitcher threw a fastball.
  • Their team needs a new starting pitcher.
• In botany:
  • The pitcher plant attracts and digests insects.
  • We studied the unique structure of the pitcher.

Advanced Usage

• "Little pitchers have big ears": This is an idiom meaning that children often overhear and understand more than adults realize.
  • Be careful what you say; little pitchers have big ears.
• "Relief pitcher": In baseball, a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher has been removed.
  • The manager called for a relief pitcher from the bullpen.

Variants and Related Words

• Pitcherful (n): The amount contained in a pitcher.
  • He drank a whole pitcherful of iced tea.
• Pitcher plant (n): A type of carnivorous plant with pitcher-shaped leaves.
  • The bog is home to many species of pitcher plants.

Synonyms

• Container sense: Jug, ewer, carafe, decanter.
• Baseball player sense: Hurler, thrower (informal).

Related Phrases

• Starting pitcher: The pitcher who begins a baseball game.
• Closer pitcher: A relief pitcher specializing in finishing games.
• Pitcher's mound: The raised area in the center of the baseball infield from which the pitcher throws.

Idioms

• "Little pitchers have big ears": As mentioned above, a warning that children are listening.
• "To be in the pitcher's seat": (Less common) To be in a position of control or advantage, analogous to the strategic position of a pitcher in baseball.

Noun

1. the position on a baseball team of the player who throws the ball for a batter to try to hit
   • he has played every position except pitcher
   • they have a southpaw on the mound
2. (botany) a leaf that that is modified in such a way as to resemble a pitcher or ewer
3. the quantity contained in a pitcher
4. an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring
5. (baseball) the person who does the pitching
   • our pitcher has a sore arm