designated hitter

noun

1

: a baseball player designated at the start of the game to bat in place of the pitcher without causing the pitcher to be removed from the game

2

: representative, substitute

Synonyms of designated hitter

• replacement
• substitute

Examples of designated hitter in a Sentence

you'll have to be my designated hitter in the office while I'm on business trips

Recent Examples on the Web

His command was erratic and then Braves designated hitter Dominic Smith hit a walkoff grand slam. —Kansas City Star, 29 Mar. 2026

Before a 3-2 pitch from Royals closer Carlos Estévez on Saturday night, Braves designated hitter Dominic Smith asked for time to compose himself. —Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 29 Mar. 2026

Reds designated hitter Sal Stewart, who went 7 for 10 in the series, went 2 for 2 with a double and two walks. —CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026

Eovaldi got off to a rough start giving up a two run home run to last year’s NL home run leader designated hitter Kyle Schwarber but settled in throwing three scoreless innings. —Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for designated hitter

• babysitter
• bitter
• critter
• fitter
• fritter
• glitter
• jitter
• knitter
• litter
• quitter
• ritter
• splitter