pitch

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There are also concomitant variations in pitch, in stress, in intonation, and perhaps in tension.

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Definitions (178)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (57)

  1. noun Any of various thick, dark, sticky substances obtained from the distillation residue of coal tar, wood tar, or petroleum and used for waterproofing, roofing, caulking, and paving.
  2. noun Any of various natural bitumens, such as mineral pitch or asphalt.
  3. noun A resin derived from the sap of various coniferous trees, as the pines.

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Examples

  • There are also concomitant variations in pitch, in stress, in intonation, and perhaps in tension. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VI No 2
  • When a strikeout occurs, usually on a perfect pitch that the batter does not go for, this pitch is said to be "right down the pipe." —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol IV No 4
  • To queer the pitch is to ` queer the act, '` spoil some-one's chances,' ` gum up the works, '` throw a monkey wrench into the machinery' (or, as the British say, a spanner into the works). —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol IV No 3
  • If the pitch is the art form in Hollywood, in Joan Didion's indelible phrase, the grant proposal is its counterpart in nonfiction film, and it takes grand themes that illuminate the American experience to persuade foundations to deem expensive projects like this worth funding. —  Not Quite All That Jazz
  • By now, his pitch was a practiced one. —  Music To My Sorrow
 

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Pitch has been looked up 420 times, favorited 0 times, listed 32 times, and commented on 4 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

height ·  intensity ·  tone ·  strain ·  rhythm ·  outburst ·  degree ·  quality ·  burst ·  accent ·  sensation ·  mood
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (7)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English pich, from Old English pic and from Anglo-Norman piche, both from Latin pix, pic-.
  2. Middle English pichen, probably from Old English *piccean, causative of *pīcian, to prick.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (5)

  1. from Middle English picchen, pycchen (preterit pighte, piʒte, past participle pight, piʒt, pyʒt), pitch, fix, pick, etc.; assibilated form of picken, pikken, pick: see pick, v.
  2. from pitch, v. In def. 14 an assibilated form of pick, n., of same ult. origin.
  3. from Middle English pich, pych, pyche, pycche, assibilated forms of pik, pyk, pikke, pykke (later Scots pick), from Anglo-Saxon pic = Old Saxon OFries. pik = Middle Dutch pik, Dutch pek = Middle Low German pik, pek = Old High German peh, pech, beh, Middle High German pech, bech, German pech = Icelandic bik = Swedish beck = Danish beg = Gaelic pic = Welsh pyg = Old French peiz, pois (later Middle English peys, pays, pais), French poix = Spanish Portuguese pez = Italian pece, from Latin pix (pic-), pitch, = Greek πίσσ, σ1α, Attic πίττα (for *πίκγα), pitch, turpentine, also the fir-tree. = Lithuanian pikkis, pitch; prob. akin to Greek πίτνς, the pine-tree, Latin pīnus (for *picnus), the pine-tree: see pine.
  4. from Middle English pitchen (= Swedish becka = Danish bege); from the noun.
  5. An assibilated form of pick, variant of peak.
 

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/pɪtʃ/
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