as in substitutes
a person or thing that takes the place of another
the business owners brought in a pinch hitter until a permanent manager could be hired
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Recent Examples of pinch hitters
Aroldis Chapman issued a pair of walks to pinch hitters Max Schuemann and Amed Rosario in the ninth before securing his 13th save.
—
CBS News, 5 June 2026
Each hit a home run, making this the first time two American League pinch hitters hit home runs in the same game.
—Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
Both entered the game as pinch hitters.
—Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
The club has five starting-caliber outfielders and can only play four at a time, and since four of those outfielders also bat left-handed, the Red Sox can’t even set up a platoon or effectively deploy pinch hitters late in game.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Agnifilo, Kaplan and Geragos are joining Weinstein’s team as pinch hitters ahead of his next appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court on March 4, with a trial date still to be set for the outstanding third-degree rape charge concerning an alleged assault on aspiring actor Jessica Mann in 2013.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
The Jays used four pinch hitters and defensive substitutions.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
There’s also pressure on the bench because teammates, like pinch hitters, never know when they may be subbed in.
—Candace Oehler, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
CBS News, 5 June 2026
Each hit a home run, making this the first time two American League pinch hitters hit home runs in the same game.
—Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
Both entered the game as pinch hitters.
—Andy Martinez, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
The club has five starting-caliber outfielders and can only play four at a time, and since four of those outfielders also bat left-handed, the Red Sox can’t even set up a platoon or effectively deploy pinch hitters late in game.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Agnifilo, Kaplan and Geragos are joining Weinstein’s team as pinch hitters ahead of his next appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court on March 4, with a trial date still to be set for the outstanding third-degree rape charge concerning an alleged assault on aspiring actor Jessica Mann in 2013.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
The Jays used four pinch hitters and defensive substitutions.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
There’s also pressure on the bench because teammates, like pinch hitters, never know when they may be subbed in.
—Candace Oehler, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinch hitters
Noun
-
As consumers looked for other low-cost substitutes, prices rose for other types of slicing tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
12 June 2026
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As a new ceremonial feature, all 26 players from each team — starters and substitutes — will participate in the ceremony by lining up around the tournament’s central emblem on the field, rather than in the traditional pregame formation.—
Eduard Cauich,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
There are many plants with great seasonal interest as potential replacements.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
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Four of the replacements – Madrigal, Meckler, Donovan Walton and José Siri – were not even on the 40-man roster two weeks ago.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
Apple has a significant recurring subscription model, including Apple Music, Apple TV and online backups.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
-
If the affected systems had been designed with resilience principles in mind, like geographic redundancy and continuous backups, then the loss of data could have been mitigated.—
Leonard Lim,
Fortune,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pinch hitters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinch%20hitters. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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