knuckleball meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

knuckleball

noun

Etymology From knuckle + ball.

Ball games, Baseball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A pitch thrown with the ball gripped on the fingertips and released with no rotation, which travels over an unpredictable path to the plate due to micro-turbulence in the air.

Even the pitcher doesn't know where his knuckleball is going.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield is best known for his use of the knuckleball.

Ball games, Cricket, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A type of delivery where a fast bowler holds the ball on the knuckles of the index and middle fingers.

Figuratively, Informal An event that is hard to predict.

Our vendor keeps throwing us knuckleballs.

Synonyms: flutterball, floater, dancer, butterfly ball, ghostball, bug

knuckleball

verb

Etymology From knuckle + ball.

Ball games, Baseball, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To pitch knuckleballs.

Varitek did not start so Kevin Cash could catch the knuckleballing starter Tim Wakefield.2008 April 16, The Associated Press, “Tigers Rally Again to Defeat the Twins”, in New York Times:

Derived terms: knuckleballer
Related terms: curveball, cut fastball, fastball, screwball, sinker, slider, split finger fastball, two-seam fastball