changeup

noun

change·​up ˈchānj-ˌəp 

: a slow pitch in baseball thrown with the same motion as a fastball in order to deceive the batter

Examples of changeup in a Sentence

The batter struck out on a changeup.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Blue Jays tagged him with nine batted ball events and three hard hits on his changeup, per Baseball Savant. — Kansas City Star, 5 Sep. 2026

Injuries to starting pitchers prompted a move to the rotation, and Brown, armed with a new sinker and adjusted changeup in addition to his four-seamer and breaking ball, dominated in that role, too. — Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Skubal struck out the side in the third inning, getting Max Clark to swing through a changeup, Javier Báez to chase a high fastball and Torres to watch an off-speed pitch clip the bottom of the zone. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026

Cruz has performed worse against the changeup than any other pitch this season. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for changeup

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup