pick-off

[ pik-awf, -of ]

noun

1. Baseball. a play in which a base runner, caught off base, is tagged out by an infielder on a quick throw, usually from the pitcher or catcher.
2. Electronics. a mechanism that senses mechanical motion and produces a corresponding electric signal.

pick off

verb

1. tr, adverb to aim at and shoot one by one

Word History and Origins

Origin of pick-off¹

First recorded in 1935–40; noun use of verb phrase pick off

Idioms and Phrases

Shoot after singling out, as in The hunter picked off the ducks one by one . [Early 1800s]

Related Words

• blast
• execute
• explode
• fire
• hit
• hurl
• kill
• launch
• murder
• open fire