Pitch

9 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pitch \Pitch\, n. [OE. pich, AS. pic, L. pix; akin to Gr. ?.]
     1. 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.
                                                    --Ecclus.
                                                    xiii. 1.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Geol.) 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.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pitch \Pitch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pitched}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Pitching}.] [See {Pitch}, n.]
     1. To cover over or smear with pitch. --Gen. vi. 14.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Fig.: To darken; to blacken; to obscure.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The welkin pitched with sullen could. --Addison.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pitch \Pitch\, v. t. [OE. picchen; akin to E. pick, pike.]
     1. 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]
  
     2. 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]
  
     3. To set, face, or pave with rubble or undressed stones, as
        an embankment or a roadway. --Knight.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To fix or set the tone of; as, to pitch a tune.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. To set or fix, as a price or value. [Obs.] --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]
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pitch \Pitch\, v. i.
     1. To fix or place a tent or temporary habitation; to encamp.
        "Laban with his brethren pitched in the Mount of Gilead."
        --Gen. xxxi. 25.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To light; to settle; to come to rest from flight.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The tree whereon they [the bees] pitch. --Mortimer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. 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.              --Tillotson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. 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.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pitch \Pitch\, n.
     1. A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand;
        as, a good pitch in quoits.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {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}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Cricket) That point of the ground on which the ball
        pitches or lights when bowled.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. 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.                       --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Enterprises of great pitch and moment. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              To lowest pitch of abject fortune.    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              He lived when learning was at its highest pitch.
                                                    --Addison.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The exact pitch, or limits, where temperance ends.
                                                    --Sharp.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Height; stature. [Obs.] --Hudibras.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. A descent; a fall; a thrusting down.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. 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]
  
     7. (Mus.) 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]
  
     Note: 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]
  
     8. (Mining) The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a
        share of the ore taken out.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     9. (Mech.)
        (a) The distance from center to center of any two adjacent
            teeth of gearing, measured on the pitch line; --
            called also circular pitch.
        (b) The length, measured along the axis, of a complete
            turn of the thread of a screw, or of the helical lines
            of the blades of a screw propeller.
        (c) The distance between the centers of holes, as of rivet
            holes in boiler plates.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     10. (Elec.) 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.
  
     {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[deg], of 45[deg], 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.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Dip \Dip\, n.
     1. The action of dipping or plunging for a moment into a
        liquid. "The dip of oars in unison." --Glover.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Inclination downward; direction below a horizontal line;
        slope; pitch.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. a hollow or depression in a surface, especially in the
        ground.
        [PJC]
  
     4. A liquid, as a sauce or gravy, served at table with a
        ladle or spoon. [Local, U.S.] --Bartlett.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. A dipped candle. [Colloq.] --Marryat.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. A gymnastic exercise on the parallel bars in which the
        performer, resting on his hands, lets his arms bend and
        his body sink until his chin is level with the bars, and
        then raises himself by straightening his arms.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     7. In the turpentine industry, the viscid exudation, which is
        dipped out from incisions in the trees; as, virgin dip
        (the runnings of the first year), yellow dip (the runnings
        of subsequent years).
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     8. (A["e]ronautics) A sudden drop followed by a climb,
        usually to avoid obstacles or as the result of getting
        into an airhole.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     9. a liquid, in which objects are soaked by dipping; e.g., a
        parasiticide or insecticide solution into which animals
        are dipped (see {sheep-dip}).
        [PJC]
  
     10. a sauce into which foods are dipped to enhance the
         flavor; e. g., an {onion dip} made from sour cream and
         dried onions, into which potato chips are dipped.
         [PJC]
  
     11. a {pickpocket}. [slang]
         [PJC]
  
     {Dip of the horizon} (Astron.), the angular depression of the
        seen or visible horizon below the true or natural horizon;
        the angle at the eye of an observer between a horizontal
        line and a tangent drawn from the eye to the surface of
        the ocean.
  
     {Dip of the needle}, or {Magnetic dip}, the angle formed, in
        a vertical plane, by a freely suspended magnetic needle,
        or the line of magnetic force, with a horizontal line; --
        called also {inclination}.
  
     {Dip of a stratum} (Geol.), its greatest angle of inclination
        to the horizon, or that of a line perpendicular to its
        direction or strike; -- called also the {pitch}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pitch
       n 1: the property of sound that varies with variation in the
            frequency of vibration
       2: (baseball) the throwing of a baseball by a pitcher to a
          batter [syn: {delivery}]
       3: a vendor's position (especially on the sidewalk); "he was
          employed to see that his paper's news pitches were not
          trespassed upon by rival vendors"
       4: promotion by means of an argument and demonstration [syn: {sales
          talk}, {sales pitch}]
       5: degree of deviation from a horizontal plane; "the roof had a
          steep pitch" [syn: {rake}, {slant}]
       6: any of various dark heavy viscid substances obtained as a
          residue [syn: {tar}]
       7: a high approach shot in golf [syn: {pitch shot}]
       8: an all-fours game in which the first card led is a trump
          [syn: {auction pitch}]
       9: abrupt up-and-down motion (as caused by a ship or other
          conveyance); "the pitching and tossing was quite exciting"
          [syn: {lurch}, {pitching}]
       10: the action or manner of throwing something; "his pitch fell
           short and his hat landed on the floor"
       v 1: throw or toss with a light motion; "flip me the beachball";
            "toss me newspaper" [syn: {flip}, {toss}, {sky}]
       2: move abruptly; "The ship suddenly lurched to the left" [syn:
           {lurch}, {shift}]
       3: fall or plunge forward; "She pitched over the railing of the
          balcony"
       4: set to a certain pitch; "He pitched his voice very low"
       5: sell or offer for sale from place to place [syn: {peddle}, {monger},
           {huckster}, {hawk}, {vend}]
       6: be at an angle; "The terrain sloped down" [syn: {slope}, {incline}]
       7: heel over; "The tower is tilting"; "The ceiling is slanting"
          [syn: {cant}, {cant over}, {tilt}, {slant}]
       8: erect and fasten; "pitch a tent" [syn: {set up}]
       9: throw or hurl from the mound to the batter, as in baseball;
          "The pitcher delivered the ball" [syn: {deliver}]
       10: hit (a golf ball) in a high arc with a backspin
       11: lead (a card) and establish the trump suit
       12: set the level or character of; "She pitched her speech to
           the teenagers in the audience" [syn: {gear}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  482 Moby Thesaurus words for "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
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Pitch
     (Gen. 6:14), asphalt or bitumen in its soft state, called
     "slime" (Gen. 11:3; 14:10; Ex. 2:3), found in pits near the Dead
     Sea (q.v.). It was used for various purposes, as the coating of
     the outside of vessels and in building. Allusion is made in Isa.
     34:9 to its inflammable character. (See {SLIME}.)