pitch

I UK [pɪtʃ] / US noun
Word forms "pitch":
singular pitch plural pitches
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1)

a) [countable] British a flat area of ground for playing particular sports on. The American word is field

a football/cricket/rugby pitch

a synthetic/artificial/all-weather pitch

Hundreds of fans invaded the pitch at the end of the game.

b) in cricket, the area between the two sets of stumps (= three sticks that the bowler tries to hit)

2)

a) [singular/uncountable] the level or degree of activity or of someone's emotions

The fighting between the supporters of the two groups reached a new pitch.

b) a level of development

high pitch:

Expertise in these techniques was already at a high pitch.

3) [uncountable] the high or low quality of a sound

pitch of:

Many actors have been trained to lower the pitch of their voice.

a) [singular/uncountable] music the high or low quality of a musical note

b) [uncountable] music someone's ability to play or sing exactly the right musical note

4) [countable] the things that you say to persuade someone to buy something or to support you

sales pitch:

People are very wary of the obvious sales pitch.

make a pitch (for something):

She only had ten minutes to make her pitch for the contract.

5) [countable] British a place where someone stands to sell something or to entertain people in the street

The new stallholder had a good pitch on a street corner.

6) [uncountable] a thick black sticky substance used on roofs and ships to stop water getting through

7) [singular/uncountable] the slope of something such as a roof

The roof had a steep pitch.

8) [countable] a sudden movement in which an aircraft or ship moves up and down

9) [countable] in baseball, a throw of the ball by the pitcher

10) pitch or pitch shot

[countable] in golf, a high hit, especially one onto the green that does not roll far when it lands

11) [countable] in climbing, an area crossed by people using the same rope

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See:

fever pitch

II UK [pɪtʃ] / US verb
Word forms "pitch":
present tense I/you/we/they pitch he/she/it pitches present participle pitching past tense pitched past participle pitched
*

1)

a) [transitive] to say, write, or create something so that it will be suitable for people of a particular age, level of ability etc

He pitched the level just right.

pitch something at/towards/for someone:

Her book is pitched at a teenage audience.

a task pitched at the weaker members of the group

b) to design something so that you can sell it to a particular group of people

pitch something at/towards:

These new homes will be pitched at the upper end of the market.

2) [transitive] to make a sound at a particular level

pitch something high/low:

Her voice was pitched confidentially low.

3)

a) [transitive] to throw something using a lot of force

He picked up a stone and pitched it.

pitch something into/over/across etc something:

Jan pitched her books over the fence and climbed over after them.

b) [intransitive/transitive] to throw the ball to a batter in the game of baseball

4)

a) [intransitive] to fall suddenly in a particular direction

pitch into/down/forward etc:

He tripped and pitched head first into the water.

b) [transitive] if an animal or moving object pitches someone somewhere, it throws them there suddenly

pitch someone down/into/forward etc:

The horse reared and pitched its rider to the ground.

5)

a) [transitive] to try to sell something by saying how good it is

pitch something to someone:

He had tried to pitch the series to all the major television networks.

b) to try to persuade someone to give you work, a business deal etc

pitch for:

Our company is pitching for the support contract.

6) [intransitive] if a ship or aircraft pitches, it moves up and down suddenly

7) [transitive] in golf, to hit a ball high and with backspin, so that it does not roll very far when it lands

8) [intransitive] if a ball pitches in golf or cricket, it hits the ground

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- pitch a tent

Phrasal verbs:

- pitch against

- pitch in

- pitch into

- pitch out

- pitch up