pitcher

A pitcher is most often a container used to hold and pour liquids, like a water pitcher on the dinner table or a small milk pitcher with coffee. But it is also an important player in baseball. In that game, the pitcher is the person who throws the ball toward home plate and tries to get the batter out. So the word moves between an everyday object and a sports role. You might say, "She filled the pitcher with lemonade," or "The pitcher threw a 90-mile-per-hour fastball."

Historically, the term could also mean a seller who tried to interest people in goods. This use is now uncommon, but it helps explain why we still say "sales pitch."

The word "pitcher" has several meanings. Most commonly, a pitcher is a container, usually with a handle and a spout, used for holding and pouring liquids. You might picture a glass pitcher of iced tea on a hot day, a plastic pitcher of juice in the fridge, or a small cream pitcher on a breakfast table. "She carefully poured the water from the pitcher into the glasses."

In sports, especially baseball, a pitcher is the player who throws the ball to the batter. This is one of the central roles in the game, and people often talk about a team's best pitcher or starting pitcher. "The veteran pitcher dominated the game, striking out ten batters."

There is also an older meaning: a pitcher could be a street seller or someone trying to sell goods. That use is rare now, but it is connected to the verb "pitch," meaning to present something in a convincing way. This is why a talk meant to sell a product or idea is still called a "pitch."

So, depending on the situation, "pitcher" may refer to something you pour from, a baseball player who throws the ball, or, in older English, a person selling something.