force play
noun
baseball
: a play in which a runner is forced to advance to the next base when the batter puts the ball in play and can be put out if a fielder holding the ball touches the base before the runner reaches it
Examples of force play in a Sentence
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At that moment Contreras made perhaps the biggest play of the game, eschewing the easy force play on McGonigle at first and making the considerably more challenging throw to second to get the lead runner.
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Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Then, on a force play, Contreras slid hard into second, banging into shortstop David Hamilton’s left knee with his cleats and tearing his pants.
—ABC News, 7 Apr. 2026
But 15 of those were throwing errors, and many of them came when trying to force plays that were not there.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Again, this is a byproduct of his attempting to force plays to happen.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
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Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 18 Apr. 2026
Then, on a force play, Contreras slid hard into second, banging into shortstop David Hamilton’s left knee with his cleats and tearing his pants.
—ABC News, 7 Apr. 2026
But 15 of those were throwing errors, and many of them came when trying to force plays that were not there.
—Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Again, this is a byproduct of his attempting to force plays to happen.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for force play
Cite this Entry
“Force play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/force%20play. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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