fastball

noun

fast·​ball ˈfas(t)-ˌbȯl How to pronounce fastball (audio)
: a baseball pitch thrown at full speed and often appearing to rise slightly as it nears the plate
fastballer noun

Examples of fastball in a Sentence

He struck him out with a fastball.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Fourteen of his 19 pitches were fastballs. Andy McCullough, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2025 Asking Sasaki to close each game in the series would be potentially taxing for any reliever with a triple-digit fastball, let alone a rookie who only became a reliever last month. Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025 The flame-throwing righty threw a 104.5 mph fastball to strike out Cubs catcher Carson Kelly. Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2025 Ohtani opened his account with a lead-off home run in Tuesday’s game, blasting Hunter Greene’s 100.4 mph fastball to right field in the bottom of the first inning. George Ramsay, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fastball

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fastball was in 1883

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fastball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fastball. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

fastball

noun
fast·​ball ˈfas(t)-ˌbȯl How to pronounce fastball (audio)
: a baseball pitch thrown at full speed

More from Merriam-Webster on fastball

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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