picked off; picking off; picks off
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
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
Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
The Tennessee softball team already has discussed the ceremonial first pitch — someone suggested a pickoff throw — and rehearsed how record-breaking ace Karlyn Pickens can avoid an awkward hug with the Knoxville Smokies’ mascot.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 July 2025
But instead of being exhilarating, Schindler’s List’s most memorable sequences are harrowing and sobering: Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes) picking off Jewish prisoners with a rifle or the remorseless liquidation of the Jewish ghetto captured in all its cold cruelty.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pickoff
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Noun
With two runners on and two outs in the sixth, Wells took off from first on a 3-2 count, drawing a pickoff throw that ultimately resulted in Volpe being caught in a rundown.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
The Tennessee softball team already has discussed the ceremonial first pitch — someone suggested a pickoff throw — and rehearsed how record-breaking ace Karlyn Pickens can avoid an awkward hug with the Knoxville Smokies’ mascot.
—Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Verb
Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was picked off three times in the loss and threw one touchdown to Keon Hatcher.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 July 2025
But instead of being exhilarating, Schindler’s List’s most memorable sequences are harrowing and sobering: Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes) picking off Jewish prisoners with a rifle or the remorseless liquidation of the Jewish ghetto captured in all its cold cruelty.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pickoff
Cite this Entry
“Pickoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pickoff. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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