pickoff

1 of 2

noun

pick·​off ˈpik-ˌȯf 

: a baseball play in which a base runner is picked off

pick off

2 of 2

verb

picked off; picking off; picks off

transitive verb

1

: to shoot or bring down especially one by one

2

: to put out (a base runner who is off base) with a quick throw (as from the pitcher or catcher)

3

: intercept

picked off a pass

Synonyms of pickoff

Verb

• intercept
• grab
• block

Examples of pickoff in a Sentence

Noun

He made a pickoff throw to third base.

Verb

picked off more passes than any other player in the division

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The pickoff saved the Los Angeles Dodgers a run, as starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow walked Varsho and then gave up a single to Alejandro Kirk, but got the following two batters out to escape the jam. —Valentina Martinez, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025

Made all the worse, that final play by Miami was botched by a mistake that led to the pickoff. —Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2025

Verb

Chicago nearly sealed the game when Terrell Edmunds picked off Flacco and ran it back for what was thought to be a touchdown. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2025

The vice president reaffirmed Republicans’ strategy of trying to pick off a handful of Senate Democrats to vote for stopgap funding to reopen the government. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1911, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pickoff

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

pick off

verb

1

: to shoot or bring down one by one or with a single shot

2

: to put out (a base runner who is off base) with a quick throw