Skip to main content
to pitch a tent

to pitch a tent

5 2.9
To put up a tent for camping
  • phrasal verb
  • /pɪtʃ ə tɛnt/
translation icon : montar una tienda
  • After hiking for several hours, we found a clear spot to pitch a tent for the night.
  • pitch a tent in your backyard
  • pitch a tent outside
  • place to pitch a tent

If you happen to pitch a tent near a bunch of grizzly bears, it's game over.

Examples

  • But once upon a time, when I was a kid, I used to pitch a tent on a hilltop not far from here.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Bring your sleeping bag, in case we decide to pitch a tent.

  • I just wanna pitch a tent and live in there.

  • Maybe pitch a tent out here in this open field.

  • We can go to a place that has a cabin, or we can pitch a tent.

  • Well, last night my husband Chris and I pitched a tent in our backyard.

  • If you happen to pitch a tent near a bunch of grizzly bears, it's game over.

  • Why bother pitching a tent if you're not actually going to camp in it overnight?

    Blog text (17)
  • If you or I were to go there and pitch a tent during any other time, wouldn't we be asked to leave or given a fine?

    Blog text (19)
  • Can't you be like other kids your age and pitch a tent in the yard or... have a healthy interest in carpentry?

Synonyms

to set up a bivvy
vsto pitch a tent
  • Jargon
8.7

Make a small outdoor shelter to sleep in

is more about erecting a freestanding camping structure rather than a simple cover

Antonyms

46 3.0

To remove something that is fixed or standing, for example stage equipment

How Difficult

to construct
201 3.5
to pitch a tent
5 2.9

Surface Forms

pitch a tent infinitive
pitching a tent present participle
pitches a tent third person singular
pitched a tent past participle

Morphology

pitch + a + tent

The meaning 'to set up a tent' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'pitch' (to put up/erect) with 'tent' (a collapsible shelter); the article 'a' does not affect compositionality. This is a literal verb + object construction common in English (and mirrored in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Pitch a tent comes from the literal action of pitch, meaning to push poles and drive pegs to fix a tent in the ground when campers make a small shelter. So it means 'to set up a tent'.