pickoff
pickoff Lexical Profile
pickoff Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American In baseball, a sudden throw by a pitcher or catcher to a fielder covering a base in order to put out a baserunner who has taken a lead or strayed too far from the bag.
"The left-handed pitcher caught the runner leaning toward second base and executed a textbook pickoff at first."
North American In American football, an interception of a forward pass by a defensive player.
"The cornerback read the quarterback's eyes and made a crucial fourth-quarter pickoff to seal the victory."
A mechanical, optical, or electronic transducer or sensor that detects the position or motion of a component and converts it into an electrical signal for measurement or control.
"An inductive pickoff mounted on the gyroscope housing continuously monitors the rotor's angular displacement."
Word Nuance & Usage
The closed compound noun "pickoff" (as in "a quick pickoff") should be distinguished from the two-word phrasal verb "pick off" (as in "to pick off the runner").