picked off; picking off; picks off
1
: to shoot or bring down especially one by one
2
: to put out (a base runner who is off base) with a quick throw (as from the pitcher or catcher)
3
: intercept
picked off a pass
Examples of pickoff in a Sentence
Noun
He made a pickoff throw to third base.
Verb
picked off more passes than any other player in the division
Recent Examples on the Web
Kansas City Star, 16 July 2025
Benintendi beat a pickoff attempt while stealing third, with Sosa taking second.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2025
Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 July 2025
But instead of being exhilarating, Schindler’s List’s most memorable sequences are harrowing and sobering: Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes) picking off Jewish prisoners with a rifle or the remorseless liquidation of the Jewish ghetto captured in all its cold cruelty.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pickoff
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Noun
In the seventh inning, Garcia walked and stole second base — then advanced to third when an errant pickoff attempt sailed into center.
—Kansas City Star, 16 July 2025
Benintendi beat a pickoff attempt while stealing third, with Sosa taking second.
—Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2025
Verb
Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was picked off three times in the loss and threw one touchdown to Keon Hatcher.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 July 2025
But instead of being exhilarating, Schindler’s List’s most memorable sequences are harrowing and sobering: Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes) picking off Jewish prisoners with a rifle or the remorseless liquidation of the Jewish ghetto captured in all its cold cruelty.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for pickoff
Cite this Entry
“Pickoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pickoff. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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