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three-hitter

three-hitter

1 5.1
A baseball game in which a pitcher allows only three hits
  • noun
  • /θriː ˈhɪtər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : tres hits
  • Winning pitcher Greg Mead celebrated his victory after delivering a solid three-hitter with 11 strikeouts.
  • a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts
  • pitched a three-hitter
  • threw a three-hitter

Examples

  • Pocatello's number-three hitter slapped a sharp liner to left that landed in front of Nelson.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Wallace pitched a remarkable game, allowing only three hits in a three-hitter against their rivals.

  • Lisa Millonzi had an outstanding performance on the mound, achieving a three-hitter with no earned runs.

Synonyms

3-hitter
vsthree-hitter
  • Jargon
6.3

A baseball game in which a pitcher allows only three hits

is written in words rather than as a numeral with a hyphen

How Many Hits

five-hitter
  • Jargon
1 8.4
four-hitter
  • Jargon
1 8.2
three-hitter
  • Jargon
1 5.1
two-hitter
  • Jargon
1 7.8
one-hitter
  • Jargon
1 8.2
no-hitter
  • Jargon
23 6.7

Surface Forms

three-hitter singular
three-hitters plural

Morphology

three-hitter = three + hitter (semi-transparent) = three + hitter

Formally a clear compound of 'three' + 'hitter', but the specific meaning 'a game in which a pitcher allows only three hits' is sports-specific jargon (parallel to 'no-hitter') and may not be obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Three-hitter comes from the number three ('three') and hitter, from hit ('a time a batter hits the ball'). In baseball this name points to a game where the pitcher allows only three hits, so a three-hitter means the pitcher gave up just three hits.