Pitch

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Pitch, n. [OE. pich, AS. pic, L. pix; akin to Gr. .].

•  A thick, black, lustrous, and sticky substance obtained by boiling down tar. It is used in calking the seams of ships; also in coating rope, canvas, wood, ironwork, etc., to preserve them.  [1913 Webster]

  "He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith."  [1913 Webster]
•  See Pitchstone.  [1913 Webster]

Amboyna pitch, the resin of Dammara australis. See Kauri. -- Burgundy pitch. See under Burgundy. -- Canada pitch, the resinous exudation of the hemlock tree (Abies Canadensis); hemlock gum. -- Jew's pitch, bitumen. -- Mineral pitch. See Bitumen and Asphalt. -- Pitch coal (Min.), bituminous coal. -- Pitch peat (Min.), a black homogeneous peat, with a waxy luster. -- Pitch pine (Bot.), any one of several species of pine, yielding pitch, esp. the Pinus rigida of North America.

Pitch, v. t. [See Pitch, n.].

•  To cover over or smear with pitch.  Gen. vi. 14.  [1913 Webster]
•  Fig.: To darken; to blacken; to obscure.  [1913 Webster]

  "The welkin pitched with sullen could."  [1913 Webster]

Pitch, v. t. [OE. picchen; akin to E. pick, pike.].

•  To throw, generally with a definite aim or purpose; to cast; to hurl; to toss; as, to pitch quoits; to pitch hay; to pitch a ball.  [1913 Webster]
•  To thrust or plant in the ground, as stakes or poles; hence, to fix firmly, as by means of poles; to establish; to arrange; as, to pitch a tent; to pitch a camp.  [1913 Webster]
•  To set, face, or pave with rubble or undressed stones, as an embankment or a roadway.  Knight.  [1913 Webster]
•  To fix or set the tone of; as, to pitch a tune.  [1913 Webster]
•  To set or fix, as a price or value.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

Pitched battle, a general battle; a battle in which the hostile forces have fixed positions; -- in distinction from a skirmish. -- To pitch into, to attack; to assault; to abuse. [Slang]

Pitch, v. i. 

•  To fix or place a tent or temporary habitation; to encamp.  Gen. xxxi. 25.  [1913 Webster]
•  To light; to settle; to come to rest from flight.  [1913 Webster]

  "The tree whereon they [the bees] pitch."  [1913 Webster]
•  To fix one's choise; -- with on or upon.  [1913 Webster]

  "Pitch upon the best course of life, and custom will render it the more easy."  [1913 Webster]
•  To plunge or fall; esp., to fall forward; to decline or slope; as, to pitch from a precipice; the vessel pitches in a heavy sea; the field pitches toward the east.  [1913 Webster]

Pitch and pay, an old aphorism which inculcates ready-money payment, or payment on delivery of goods. Shak.

Pitch, n. 

•  A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand; as, a good pitch in quoits.  [1913 Webster]
•  That point of the ground on which the ball pitches or lights when bowled.  [1913 Webster]
•  A point or peak; the extreme point or degree of elevation or depression; hence, a limit or bound.  [1913 Webster]

  "Driven headlong from the pitch of heaven, down
  Into this deep."  [1913 Webster]

  "Enterprises of great pitch and moment."  [1913 Webster]

  "To lowest pitch of abject fortune."  [1913 Webster]

  "He lived when learning was at its highest pitch."  [1913 Webster]

  "The exact pitch, or limits, where temperance ends."  [1913 Webster]
•  Height; stature.  Hudibras.  [1913 Webster]
•  A descent; a fall; a thrusting down.  [1913 Webster]
•  The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent or slope; slant; as, a steep pitch in the road; the pitch of a roof.  [1913 Webster]
•  The relative acuteness or gravity of a tone, determined by the number of vibrations which produce it; the place of any tone upon a scale of high and low.  [1913 Webster]

  " Musical tones with reference to absolute pitch, are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet; with reference to relative pitch, in a series of tones called the scale, they are called one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight is also one of a new scale an octave higher, as one is eight of a scale an octave lower."  [1913 Webster]
•  The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out.  [1913 Webster]
•  The distance from center to center of any two adjacent teeth of gearing, measured on the pitch line; -- called also circular pitch.  [1913 Webster]
•  The distance between symmetrically arranged or corresponding parts of an armature, measured along a line, called the pitch line, drawn around its length. Sometimes half of this distance is called the pitch.

Pitch and toss, a game played by tossing up a coin, and calling “Heads or tails;” hence: To play pitch and toss with (anything), to be careless or trust to luck about it. “To play pitch and toss with the property of the country.” G. Eliot. -- Pitch farthing. See Chuck farthing, under 5th Chuck.

Concert pitch (Mus.), the standard of pitch used by orchestras, as in concerts, etc. -- Diametral pitch (Gearing), the distance which bears the same relation to the pitch proper, or circular pitch, that the diameter of a circle bears to its circumference; it is sometimes described by the number expressing the quotient obtained by dividing the number of teeth in a wheel by the diameter of its pitch circle in inches; as, 4 pitch, 8 pitch, etc. -- Pitch chain, a chain, as one made of metallic plates, adapted for working with a sprocket wheel. -- Pitch line, or Pitch circle (Gearing), an ideal line, in a toothed gear or rack, bearing such a relation to a corresponding line in another gear, with which the former works, that the two lines will have a common velocity as in rolling contact; it usually cuts the teeth at about the middle of their height, and, in a circular gear, is a circle concentric with the axis of the gear; the line, or circle, on which the pitch of teeth is measured. -- Pitch of a roof (Arch.), the inclination or slope of the sides expressed by the height in parts of the span; as, one half pitch; whole pitch; or by the height in parts of the half span, especially among engineers; or by degrees, as a pitch of 30°, of 45°, etc.; or by the rise and run, that is, the ratio of the height to the half span; as, a pitch of six rise to ten run. Equilateral pitch is where the two sloping sides with the span form an equilateral triangle. -- Pitch of a plane (Carp.), the slant of the cutting iron. -- Pitch of poles (Elec.), the distance between a pair of poles of opposite sign. -- Pitch pipe, a wind instrument used by choristers in regulating the pitch of a tune. -- Pitch point (Gearing), the point of contact of the pitch lines of two gears, or of a rack and pinion, which work together.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Pitch, v. & n.
--v.
1 tr. (also absol.) erect and fix (a tent, camp, etc.).
2 tr. a throw; fling. b (in games) throw (a flat object) towards a mark.
3 tr. fix or plant (a thing) in a definite position.
4 tr. express in a particular style or at a particular level (pitched his argument at the most basic level).
5 intr. (often foll. by against, into, etc.) fall heavily, esp. headlong.
6 intr. (of a ship etc.) plunge in a longitudinal direction (cf. ROLL v. 8a).
7 tr. Mus. set at a particular pitch.
8 intr. (of a roof etc.) slope downwards.
9 intr. (often foll. by about) move with a vigorous jogging motion, as in a train, carriage, etc.
10 Cricket a tr. cause (a bowled ball) to strike the ground at a specified point etc. b intr. (of a bowled ball) strike the ground.
11 tr. colloq. tell (a yarn or a tale).
12 tr. Golf play (a ball) with a pitch shot.
13 tr. pave (a road) with stones.
--n.
1 a the area of play in a field-game. b Cricket the area between the creases.
2 height, degree, intensity, etc. (the pitch of despair; nerves were strung to a pitch).
3 a the steepness of a slope, esp. of a roof, stratum, etc. b the degree of such a pitch.
4 Mus. a that quality of a sound which is governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone. b = concert pitch.
5 the pitching motion of a ship etc.
6 Cricket the act or mode of delivery in bowling, or the spot where the ball bounces.
7 colloq. a salesman's advertising or selling approach.
8 Brit. a place where a street vendor sells wares, has a stall, etc.
9 (also pitch shot) Golf a high approach shot with a short run.
10 Mech. the distance between successive corresponding points or lines, e.g. between the teeth of a cog-wheel etc.
11 the height to which a falcon etc. soars before swooping on its prey.
12 the delivery of a baseball by a pitcher.

Idiom

pitch-and-toss a gambling game in which coins are pitched at a mark and then tossed. pitched battle
1 a vigorous argument etc.
2 Mil. a battle planned beforehand and fought on chosen ground. pitched roof a sloping roof. pitch in colloq. set to work vigorously.
pitch into colloq.
1 attack forcibly with blows, words, etc.
2 assail (food, work, etc.) vigorously. pitch on (or upon) happen to select. pitch-pipe Mus. a small pipe blown to set the pitch for singing or tuning. pitch up Cricket bowl (a ball) to bounce near the batsman. pitch wickets Cricket fix the stumps in the ground and place the bails.

Pitch, n. & v.
--n.
1 a sticky resinous black or dark-brown substance obtained by distilling tar or turpentine, semi-liquid when hot, hard when cold, and used for caulking the seams of ships etc.
2 any of various bituminous substances including asphalt.
--v.tr. cover, coat, or smear with pitch.

Idiom

pitch-black (or -dark) very or completely dark. pitch-pine any of various pine-trees, esp. Pinus rigida or P. palustris, yielding much resin.

Etymology

OE pic f. Gmc f. L pix picis

THESAURUS

Pitch

AF, French pitch, abuse, acme, address, after-dinner speech, allocution, amount, angularity, apex, apogee, ascend, asphalt, assail, assault, assist, attack, audio frequency, ballyhoo, bank, base, belabor, belly buster, belly flop, belly whopper, bevel, bezel, bitumen, bivouac, blunder, bob, bobble, bowl, brow, buck off, build, build in, bung, caliber, camp, camp out, cannonball, cant, cap, capsize, careen, career, cascade, cast, cast up, catapult, cataract, chalk talk, change of pace, change-up, charcoal, chip in, choose, chuck, chunk, chute, classical pitch, climax, climb, cloud nine, coal, coggle, collapse, come a cropper, come down, compass, contribute, cooperate, crash, crash dive, crest, crow, crown, culmen, culmination, curve, cut, dangle, dart, dash, debate, declamation, decline, degree, depth, descend, determine, diatribe, dip, dip down, dive, down, downcurve, drive stakes, drop, drop down, drop off, easy slope, ebon, ebony, edge, elect, elevate, encamp, erect, establish, eulogy, exhortation, extent, extreme limit, extremity, fall, fall away, fall down, fall flat, fall headlong, fall off, fall over, fall prostrate, falter, fastball, filibuster, fire, fix, fleam, fling, flip, flounce, flounder, fluctuate, flutter, forensic, forensic address, fork, formal speech, forward pass, found, frequency, fundamental, fundamental tone, funeral oration, gainer, gentle slope, get a cropper, glacis, go camping, go down, go downhill, go uphill, grade, gradient, gravitate, ground, hanging gardens, harangue, harmonic, header, heave, heaven, heavens, height, helicline, help, high noon, high pitch, highest pitch, highest point, hillside, hobbyhorse, hoist, hortatory address, hurl, hurtle, inaugural, inaugural address, inclination, incline, inclined plane, incurve, inflection, ink, install, interval, intonation, intonation pattern, invective, invest, jackknife, jeremiad, jerk, jet, jump on, keel, key, knuckleball, labor, lance, lash out at, lateral, lateral pass, launch, launching ramp, lay into, lay the foundation, lean, leaning, leaning tower, leap, let fly, level, librate, lift up, light into, limit, list, lob, lose altitude, low pitch, lurch, make heavy weather, mark, maximum, measure, meridian, modulation, monotone, monotony, mountaintop, move, name, ne plus ultra, new philharmonic pitch, night, no place higher, nominate, noon, nose dive, nose-dive, notch, note, nuance, nutate, opt for, oration, oscillate, outcurve, overtone, parachute, parachute jump, partial, partial tone, pas, pass, patter, peak, peg, pelt, pendulate, pep talk, period, peroration, persuasion, philharmonic pitch, philippic, philosophical pitch, pick, pinnacle, pitch accent, pitch and plunge, pitch and toss, pitch camp, pitch in, pitch into, pitchfork, pitchpole, place, plane, plant, plateau, plop, plummet, plump, plunge, plunk, point, pole, position, pounce, pounce on, pounce upon, pound, pour down, power dive, precipitate, prepared speech, prepared text, proportion, public speech, put, put in, put the shot, put up, rain, raise, raise aloft, raise up, rake, ramp, range, ratio, raven, reach, reading, rear, rear aloft, recital, recitation, reel, register, remove, resonate, retreat, ridge, rise, rock, roll, rough it, round, rung, running dive, sail into, sales pitch, sales talk, salutatory, salutatory address, say, scale, scarp, scend, scope, screed, screwball, seat, seethe, select, send, serve, service, set, set speech, set up, set upon, seventh heaven, shade, shadow, shake, shelve, shelving beach, shoot, shot-put, shy, side, sidle, sinker, skin-dive, sky, sky dive, sky-dive, slant, sleep out, slider, sling, sloe, slope, smoke, smut, snap, song and dance, soot, sound, space, speech, speech tune, speechification, speeching, spiel, spire, spitball, spitter, sprawl, spread-eagle, stagger, stair, stand upright, standard, standard pitch, stationary dive, steep slope, step, stiff climb, stint, stoop, struggle, stumble, summit, suprasegmental, swag, swan dive, sway, swing, swoop, swoop down, take a fall, take a header, take a pratfall, talk, talkathon, talus, tar, tent, thrash about, throw, tilt, tip, tip-top, tirade, tonality, tone, tonelessness, top, topple, topple down, topple over, toss, toss and tumble, toss and turn, totter, tower of Pisa, tread, trend downward, trip, tumble, tune, turn turtle, unhorse, unseat, upcurve, upend, upheave, uplift, upmost, upper extremity, uppermost, upraise, uprear, upright, uprise, utmost, vacillate, valediction, valedictory, valedictory address, vertex, very top, vest, vibrate, volutation, wag, waggle, wallop, wallow, wave, waver, welter, wobble, yaw, zenith

ROGET THESAURUS

Pitch

Degree

N degree, grade, extent, measure, amount, ratio, stint, standard, height, pitch, reach, amplitude, range, scope, caliber, gradation, shade, tenor, compass, sphere, station, rank, standing, rate, way, sort, point, mark, stage, intensity, strength, comparative, gradual, shading off, within the bounds, by degrees, gradually, inasmuch, pro tanto, however, howsoever, step by step, bit by bit, little by little, inch by inch, drop by drop, a little at a time, by inches, by slow degrees, by degrees, by little and little, in some degree, in some measure, to some extent, di grado in grado.

Term

N term, rank, station, stage, step, degree, scale, remove, grade, link, peg, round of the ladder, status, position, place, point, mark, pas, period, pitch, stand, standing, footing, range.

Location

VB place, situate, locate, localize, make a place for, put, lay, set, seat, station, lodge, quarter, post, install, house, stow, establish, fix, pin, root, graft, plant, shelve, pitch, camp, lay down, deposit, reposit, cradle, moor, tether, picket, pack, tuck in, embed, imbed, vest, invest in, billet on, quarter upon, saddle with, load, lade, freight, pocket, put up, bag, inhabit, domesticate, colonize, take root, strike root, anchor, cast anchor, come to an anchor, sit down, settle down, settle, take up one's abode, take up one's quarters, plant oneself, establish oneself, locate oneself, squat, perch, hive, se nicher, bivouac, burrow, get a footing, encamp, pitch one's tent, put up at, put up one's horses at, keep house, endenizen, naturalize, adopt, put back, replace.

Height

N height, altitude, elevation, eminence, pitch, loftiness, sublimity, tallness, stature, procerity, prominence, colossus, giant, grenadier, giraffe, camelopard, mount, mountain, hill alto, butte, monticle, fell, knap, cape, headland, foreland, promontory, ridge, hog's back, dune, rising ground, vantage ground, down, moor, moorland, Alp, uplands, highlands, heights, knob, loma, pena, picacho, tump, knoll, hummock, hillock, barrow, mound, mole, steeps, bluff, cliff, craig, tor, peak, pike, clough, escarpment, edge, ledge, brae, dizzy height, tower, pillar, column, obelisk, monument, steeple, spire, minaret, campanile, turret, dome, cupola, skyscraper, pole, pikestaff, maypole, flagstaff, top mast, topgallant mast, ceiling, high water, high tide, flood tide, spring tide, altimetry, batophobia, satellite, spy-in-the-sky, high, elevated, eminent, exalted, lofty, tall, gigantic, Patagonian, towering, beetling, soaring, hanging (gardens), elevated, upper, highest, high reaching, insessorial, perching, upland, moorland, hilly, knobby, mountainous, alpine, subalpine, heaven kissing, cloudtopt, cloudcapt, cloudtouching, aerial, overhanging, incumbent, overlying, superincumbent, supernatant, superimposed, prominent, tall as a maypole, tall as a poplar, tall as a steeple, lanky, on high, high up, aloft, up, above, aloof, overhead, airwind, upstairs, abovestairs, in the clouds, on tiptoe, on stilts, on the shoulders of, over head and ears, breast high, over, upwards, from top to bottom, e meglio cader dalle finistre che dal tetto.

Summit

N summit, summity, top, peak, vertex, apex, zenith, pinnacle, acme, culmination, meridian, utmost height, ne plus utra, height, pitch, maximum, climax, culminating point, crowning point, turning point, turn of the tide, fountain head, water shed, water parting, sky, pole, tip, tip top, crest, crow's nest, cap, truck, nib, end, crown, brow, head, nob, noddle, pate, capsheaf, high places, heights, topgallant mast, sky scraper, quarter deck, hurricane deck, architrave, frieze, cornice, coping stone, zoophorus, capital, epistyle, sconce, pediment, entablature, tympanum, ceiling, attic, loft, garret, house top, upper story, summit conference, summit, peak of achievement, peak of performance, peaks and troughs, peaks and valleys (in graphs), highest &c (high), top, top most, upper most, tiptop, culminating, meridian, meridional, capital, head, polar, supreme, supernal, topgallant, atop, at the top of the tree, en flute, fleur deau.

Propulsion

VB propel, project, throw, fling, cast, pitch, chuck, toss, jerk, heave, shy, hurl, flirt, fillip, dart, lance, tilt, ejaculate, jaculate, fulminate, bolt, drive, sling, pitchfork, send, send off, let off, fire off, discharge, shoot, launch, release, send forth, let fly, put in orbit, send into orbit, launch into orbit dash, put in motion, set in motion, set agoing, start, give a start, give an impulse to, impel, trundle, expel, carry one off one's legs, put to flight.

Descent

VB descend, go down, drop down, come down, fall, gravitate, drop, slip, slide, rappel, settle, plunge, plummet, crash, decline, set, sink, droop, come down a peg, slump, dismount, alight, light, get down, swoop, stoop, fall prostrate, precipitate oneself, let fall, tumble, trip, stumble, titubate, lurch, pitch, swag, topple, topple over, tumble over, topple down, tumble down, tilt, sprawl, plump down, come down a cropper.

Depression

VB depress, lower, let down, take down, let down a peg, take down a peg, cast, let drop, let fall, sink, debase, bring low, abase, reduce, detrude, pitch, precipitate, overthrow, overturn, overset, upset, subvert, prostate, level, fell, cast down, take down, throw down, fling down, dash down, pull down, cut down, knock down, hew down, raze, raze to the ground, rase to the ground, trample in the dust, pull about one's ears, sit, sit down, couch, squat, crouch, stoop, bend, bow, courtesy, curtsy, bob, duck, dip, kneel, bend the knee, bow the knee, bend the head, bow the head, cower, recline.

Oscillation

VB oscillate, vibrate, librate, alternate, undulate, wave, rock, swing, pulsate, beat, wag, waggle, nod, bob, courtesy, curtsy, tick, play, wamble, wabble, dangle, swag, fluctuate, dance, curvet, reel, quake, quiver, quaver, shake, flicker, wriggle, roll, toss, pitch, flounder, stagger, totter, move up and down, bob up and down, pass and repass, ebb and flow, come and go, vacillate, teeter, brandish, shake, flourish.

Resin

N resin, rosin, gum, lac, sealing wax, amber, ambergris, bitumen, pitch, tar, asphalt, asphaltum, camphor, varnish, copal, mastic, magilp, lacquer, japan, artificial resin, polymer, ion-exchange resin, cation-exchange resin, anion exchange resin, water softener, Amberlite, Dowex, Diaion, resiny, resinous, bituminous, pitchy, tarry, asphaltic, asphaltite.

Concord

N concord, accord, harmony, symphony, homologue, agreement, sympathy, empathy, response, union, unison, unity, bonds of harmony, peace, unanimity, league, happy family, rapprochement, reunion, amity, alliance, entente cordiale, good understanding, conciliation, peacemaker, intercessor, mediator, concordant, congenial, agreeing, in accord, harmonious, united, cemented, banded together, allied, friendly, fraternal, conciliatory, at one with, of one mind, at peace, in still water, tranquil, with one voice, in concert with, hand in hand, on one's side, commune periculum concordiam parit, melody concord, melody, rhythm, measure, rhyme, pitch, timbre, intonation, tone, scale, gamut, diapason, diatonic chromatic scale, enharmonic scale, key, clef, chords, modulation, temperament, syncope, syncopation, preparation, suspension, resolution, staff, stave, line, space, brace, bar, rest, appoggiato, appoggiatura, acciaccatura, note, musical note, notes of a scale, sharp, flat, natural, high note, low note, interval, semitone, second, third, fourth, diatessaron, breve, semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, demisemiquaver, hemidemisemiquaver, sustained note, drone, burden, tonic, key note, leading note, fundamental note, supertonic, mediant, dominant, submediant, subdominant, octave, tetrachord, major key, minor key, major scale, minor scale, major mode, minor mode, passage, phrase, concord, harmony, emmeleia, unison, unisonance, chime, homophony, euphony, euphonism, tonality, consonance, consent, part, harmony, harmonics, thorough-bass, fundamental-bass, counterpoint, faburden, piece of music, composer, harmonist, contrapuntist (musician), harmonious, harmonical, in concord, in tune, in concert, unisonant, concentual, symphonizing, isotonic, homophonous, assonant, ariose, consonant, measured, rhythmical, diatonic, chromatic, enharmonic, melodious, musical, melic, tuneful, tunable, sweet, dulcet, canorous, mellow, mellifluous, soft, clear, clear as a bell, silvery, euphonious, euphonic, euphonical, symphonious, enchanting fine-toned, full-toned, silver-toned, harmoniously, in harmony, as one, the hidden soul of harmony.