pickoff

1 of 2

noun

pick·​off ˈpik-ˌȯf 

: a baseball play in which a base runner is picked off

pick off

2 of 2

verb

picked off; picking off; picks off

transitive verb

1

: to shoot or bring down especially one by one

2

: to put out (a base runner who is off base) with a quick throw (as from the pitcher or catcher)

3

: intercept

picked off a pass

Synonyms

Verb

• block
• intercept
• interdict

Examples of pickoff in a Sentence

Noun

He made a pickoff throw to third base.

Verb

picked off more passes than any other player in the division

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Ohtani suffered a right hamstring bruise when he was hit by a pickoff throw from Reds left-hander Brent Suter on May 16. —Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024

Locked in a tie game at UC San Diego’s Triton Ballpark, Imperial High School made two critical mistakes — an error on a pickoff play and a passed ball — and University City scratched out a 2-1 win over the Tigers in Saturday’s CIF San Diego Section Division 4 title game. —John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2024

Verb

Linebacker Anthony Walker also tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage during 11-on-11 and it was nearly picked off. —Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 4 June 2024

That the plot concerns a serial killer picking off the population of elite Los Angeles prep school students in the mid-’80s, of course, helps. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1911, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pick off

verb

1

: to shoot or bring down one by one or with a single shot

2

: to put out (a base runner who is off base) with a quick throw