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
Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 15 July 2024
Halvorsen escaped being a walk-off loser with a nice pickoff move that caught Garcia between second and third.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2025
Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 12 May 2025
Garcia applied the tag — the Royals had picked off the lead runner in extra innings.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pickoff
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Noun
His arm became so lethal that Sirianni called just 15 pickoff throws to first base all season, almost daring opponents to take off against Janek’s arm.
—Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 15 July 2024
Halvorsen escaped being a walk-off loser with a nice pickoff move that caught Garcia between second and third.
—Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
Just try to forget about his getting picked off Saturday night.
—Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 12 May 2025
Garcia applied the tag — the Royals had picked off the lead runner in extra innings.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 4 May 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 22 May. 2025.
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