squeeze play

noun

1
: a baseball play in which a runner on third base starts for home plate as the ball is being pitched and the batter attempts to bunt to give the runner a chance to score
2
: the exertion of pressure in order to extort a concession or gain a goal

Examples of squeeze play in a Sentence

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.
Little Margin for Error Image Near the end of his shift, the controller handling both helicopters and commercial jets tried to pull off a complicated, and potentially risky, maneuver called a squeeze play. Kate Kelly, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025 San Francisco executed a squeeze play — Brett Wisely bunting, Ramos scoring. Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 7 May 2025 With runners on first and third and one out, San Ysidro pulled off a squeeze play. Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025 Laureano, the automatic runner in the 10th, got caught in a rundown on a squeeze play and some words were exchanged after a collision involving outfielder Francisco Alvarez. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 26 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for squeeze play

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of squeeze play was in 1905

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Cite this Entry

“Squeeze play.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squeeze%20play. Accessed 25 May. 2025.

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