catcher
nounUK /ˈkæt͡ʃə/ · US /ˈkæt͡ʃəɹ/
Etymology
Etymology tree Latin captus Proto-Indo-European *-yetider. Latin -io Vulgar Latin *captiāre Old French chacierbor. Anglo-Norman cachierbor. Middle English cacchen English catch Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English catcher From catch + -er.
Someone or something that catches.
Ball games, Baseball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports The player who squats behind home plate and receives the pitches from the pitcher.
- Finding Dempsey in my mind's eye in January was not quite startling, ...but some other catchers turned up in my hot-stove reveries as well. Bob Boone, for instance.1989 February 13, Roger Angell, Season Ticket: A Baseball Companion, Ballantine Books, page 22:
- A “pitchometer” was installed on the scoreboard to time the pitchers. According the baseball rules a pitcher had to throw a pitch within 20 seconds after he received the ball from the catcher when there was nobody on base.2003, John E. Peterson, The Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History: 1954–1967, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 210:
1 more example
- At the plate the catcher is responsible for catching pitches, keeping mispitched balls in front of the plate, calling pitches that are normally done through hand signals, picking off runners, and they are considered the leaders of the field.2021, University of the District of Columbia, “The plate umpire may suspend play because of darkness”, in Course Hero:
US, Colloquial The bottom partner in a homosexual relationship or sexual encounter between two men.
Archaic A wrestler.
Hobbies, Ice hockey, Lifestyle, Skating, Sports The webbed glove that the goaltender wears on the hand opposite the hand that holds the stick.
Abbreviation Short for mailcatcher (“device for a moving train to pick up mail”)
- Derived terms
54 terms
baby-catcher, babycatcher, beau-catcher, birdcatcher, bird-catcher tree, bluff catcher, boot catcher, catcatcher, catcher interference, catcher-upper, caterpillar catcher, cony-catcher, cootie catcher, cowcatcher, cow catcher, cum-catcher, cum catcher, dogcatcher, dog-catcher, dreamcatcher, dream catcher, eye-catcher, eyecatcher, fartcatcher, fishcatcher, flack-catcher, flack catcher, flak-catcher, flak catcher, fly-catcher, flycatcher, gamecatcher, gnatcatcher, grass catcher, key catcher, keycatcher, mailcatcher, man catcher, molecatcher, oyster-catcher, oystercatcher, podcatcher, ratcatcher, slavecatcher, spear catcher, spider-catcher, spycatcher, stonecatcher, suncatcher, tear catcher, time-catcher, torpedo catcher, whale catcher, windcatcher- Coordinate terms
- infielder, outfielder, pitcher