How to Use pickoff in a Sentence

pickoff

1 of 2 noun
Definition of pickoffnext
  • He made a pickoff throw to third base.
  • Haase, Brieske said, was the one who called for the pickoff.
    — Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 17 June 2022
  • Kershaw fired a pickoff throw to first that caught Ohtani off the bag.
    — Beth Harris, Baltimore Sun, 20 July 2022
  • Cueto has one of the game’s great pickoff moves, and the news about the step-off rule caught him off guard.
    — John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Mar. 2021
  • This wasn’t the first time Báez stole home on a pickoff throw to first this season.
    — Tom Verducci, SI.com, 9 July 2018
  • Lyles' errant throw on a pickoff attempt in the fifth helped the D-backs push to a 3-0 lead.
    — Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 23 Sep. 2020
  • But then the left-hander picked off Ohtani, the first pickoff in an All-Star Game since 2008.
    — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2022
  • That’s a pickoff percentage of 0.7, which is tops in the NFL.
    — Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2021
  • The Giants scored a third as a runner scored from third on a pickoff throw to first.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 18 May 2021
  • Giolito, now alert to the threat, tried a pickoff that was too late.
    — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2023
  • The team does 30 minutes of bunting in each practice, and the pitchers all spend a chunk of time on their pickoff moves.
    — Mike Hutton, chicagotribune.com, 12 June 2021
  • With Jose Trevino at the dish, down 1-2 in the count, Strahm attempted a pickoff.
    — Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Sep. 2022
  • Urías then went to third when Bell let a pickoff throw get past him at first base for an error.
    — Noah Trister, Star Tribune, 23 July 2021
  • The first pickoff, by Jaire Alexander, came when Dallas was backed on its own end of the field late in the first quarter.
    — USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2024
  • Smith then stole second and got to third when Peacock threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt.
    — Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times, 13 Apr. 2019
  • How will teams use the pickoff throw strategy and how will teams try to exploit it?
    — Dallas News, 8 Feb. 2023
  • Henry County tied the game in the bottom of the fourth after a pickoff attempt to third base went wild.
    — Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, 9 June 2021
  • Jose Siri led off the third with a single, stole second and went to third on an errant pickoff throw by Quantrill.
    — Joe Noga, cleveland, 25 May 2022
  • Luke Edgecomb scored and Salinas went to third on an errant pickoff throw to first.
    — Rick Kretzschmar, Dallas News, 17 May 2023
  • With two outs and runners on first and third, Castillo stepped off the mound and attempted a pickoff at first base.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 15 May 2022
  • Gilbert even flashed his quickness with an inning-ending pickoff move in the fifth.
    — Joshua Thornton, NOLA.com, 3 Mar. 2018
  • Covey was saddled with the third error, in the third inning, when his pickoff throw to first bounced by Jose Abreu.
    — Colleen Kane, chicagotribune.com, 18 June 2018
  • On an errant pickoff throw to first base, Mateo went first-to-third, sliding in safely ahead of the throw.
    — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, 3 Mar. 2020
  • Hammel attempted to fire a pickoff move to first base but fumbled the ball in his glove on the exchange.
    — Sam McDowell, kansascity.com, 8 June 2017
  • That's when Madrigal trotted to the mound to review pickoff signs with Fehmel and catcher Adley Rutschman.
    — Ron Richmond For The Oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, 12 May 2018
  • Perdomo walked three batters that inning and made a wild pickoff throw to first that sent home the run.
    — Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 May 2021
  • In the third, Willi Castro singled but was picked off — on the sixth pickoff attempt — by Hendricks at first base.
    — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 16 May 2021
  • They are allowed to step off or attempt a pickoff throw a third time, but will be charged a balk if no out is recorded.
    — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 9 Sep. 2022
  • Ohtani suffered a right hamstring bruise when he was hit by a pickoff throw from Reds left-hander Brent Suter on May 16.
    — Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024
  • Catcher Julia Rowley had two doubles and scored three runs and had a big pickoff play at third in the second inning.
    — Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2024
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pick off

2 of 2 verb
  • The pass was picked off, and the Trojans lost in overtime.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2024
  • Mom picks off bad guys in the desert with her sniper rifle.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 May 2024
  • The Colts can pick off the 49ers in a close one if Wentz continues that trend.
    — Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Oct. 2021
  • The Browns went for it on fourth-and-2 on their next drive and Flacco was picked off again.
    — Kristie Rieken, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2024
  • Wolves tend to pick off the old and the weak of a herd, which benefits the health of the overall hunting stock.
    — Eleanor Cummins, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2021
  • The Kraken entered the game as a nice target for the Stars to pick off on their way to the playoffs.
    — Dallas News, 3 Apr. 2022
  • When he was picked off a second time, the Irish had even less ground to cover.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2023
  • The ball popped into the air and was picked off by cornerback L’Jarius Snead.
    — Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2023
  • Then in the third pitch of the next at-bat, Reds catcher Luke Maile picked off the runner on first base to end the inning.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 25 May 2023
  • Yam Banks picked off a pass for the Jaguars moments later, keeping it a tie game at the break.
    — Creg Stephenson | [email protected], al, 9 Sep. 2023
  • He was picked off, and now the Bucs have no points to show for what was their third straight impressive drive.
    — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 22 Oct. 2024
  • Let the native predators pick off scale, mealy bugs, thrips, etc.
    — Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 July 2022
  • The Rams got the ball back with 5:29 left, but Stafford's third-down throw into traffic was picked off by Lenoir.
    — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 18 Sep. 2023
  • Don’t prune or pick off the dry or wilted leaves as this will expose the inside of the plant to the harsh sunlight.
    — oregonlive, 19 Sep. 2021
  • Insects are drawn to the lights; bats are attracted to the insects; and, the worry is, owls pick off the bats.
    — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022
  • The leadoff runner was wiped away, though, when Jarvis was picked off by the catcher.
    — Nick Alvarez | [email protected], al, 10 June 2023
  • The Browns picked off Jackson twice and sacked him three times in their Nov. 12 win in Baltimore.
    — Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2024
  • At this point, Eckersley throws to first to try and pick off Mike Davis.
    — Houston Mitchell Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2021
  • Watt put his hands up on a rush just in time to pick off Stafford's pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
    — Larry Lage, Chron, 26 Nov. 2020
  • Watt put his hands up on a rush just in time to pick off Stafford’s pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
    — oregonlive, 26 Nov. 2020
  • That proves to be a tough task given more monks keep getting picked off and the killer looks to be whittling it down to Shardlake.
    — Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024
  • Goodall explained how chimpanzees take sticks, pick off the leaves, and use them to poke into termite nests to get a snack.
    — Dallas News, 20 May 2022
  • Pet hair is a pain to pick off fabrics before washing and to clean from your machines.
    — Carolyn Forte, Good Housekeeping, 17 Aug. 2021
  • At one point, a juvenile Cooper's Hawk flies up to perch on the chimney, aiming to pick off a meal from the flock.
    — Deena Prichep, NPR, 14 Sep. 2024
  • After White led off with a double he was picked off second base.
    — Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 19 Feb. 2024
  • During a protest, she was picked off by an Israel Defense Forces sniper.
    — Hamilton Cain, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2023
  • His pass intended for the tight end was picked off by rookie safety Jaquan Amos in the end zone near the tail end of practice.
    — Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 27 July 2023
  • Clark had a chance to get 20 assists, but her pass in the paint in the closing seconds was picked off thanks to stout defense by Dallas.
    — Bruce Haring, Deadline, 17 July 2024
  • That depends on them picking off, say, Sherrod Brown in Ohio.
    — Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2023
  • The Dolphins were down 5 points and driving, and Bell was in perfect position to pick off his second pass of the game.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 30 Sep. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pickoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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