fastball

noun

fast·​ball ˈfas(t)-ˌbȯl 

: a baseball pitch thrown at full speed and often appearing to rise slightly as it nears the plate

fastballer

ˈfas(t)-ˌbȯ-lər 

noun

Examples of fastball in a Sentence

He struck him out with a fastball.

Recent Examples on the Web

Burger, a fastball hunter, got a 1-0 97 mph fastball at the top of the zone and made hard contact. —Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 6 Mar. 2026

Gil also admitted to taking some zip off his fastball at times in an effort to find the strike zone last season. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 5 Mar. 2026

Pomeranz found that success once his fastball returned between 92 and 93 mph last season. —Doug Padilla, Oc Register, 5 Mar. 2026

The benches and bullpens emptied after Wrobleski hit Giménez on the hand with a fastball in the fourth, and the crowd roared when George Springer followed with a single off Wrobleski’s leg. —Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing fastball

• cut fastball
• split-fingered fastball

Rhymes for fastball

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

Kids Definition

fastball

noun

fast·​ball ˈfas(t)-ˌbȯl 

: a baseball pitch thrown at full speed