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Glite Dictionary
🎀 Baton performer ⚾ A pitcher
twirler

twirler

1 7.6
A baseball player who throws the ball to the batter
  • noun
  • /ˈtwɪr.lɚ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : lanzador

Examples

  • You know me from twirler.

    Blog text (10)

  • I was a twirler.

    On the Basis of Sex (2018)

  • I used to spend Saturday nights in that house with his daughter, a junior high twirler of some popularity, and I remember nothing more of Mr. Thibideaux than that he had a crew cut and a stern manner.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • But I gotta say, with some small amount of both truth and regret, you might have become the all-time world champion tassel twirler had you stuck with it.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The talented twirler threw a fastball that struck out the batter.

  • In that crucial game, the twirler managed to pitch six scoreless innings.

  • Every time the twirler stepped on the mound, the crowd cheered in anticipation.

Synonyms

pitcher
vstwirler
198 2.7

A player in baseball who throws the ball to the batter

is the same role but called by a different term
ballplayer
vstwirler
  • US
54 3.0

A person who plays baseball, often as a professional

refers specifically to the pitching role rather than any player
left-hander
vstwirler
5 5.5

A baseball pitcher who throws the ball with the left hand

is the same pitching role without specifying throwing hand
hurler
vstwirler
  • Jargon
1 8.2

A baseball player who throws the ball to the batter

is the same role but named with another informal word
lefthander
vstwirler
1 5.2

A baseball pitcher who throws with the left hand

is the same pitching role without specifying throwing hand

Compounds

baton twirler
1 6.5

A person who spins a thin stick and does tricks in parades or shows

Surface Forms

twirler singular
twirlers plural

Morphology

twirler = twirl (semi-transparent) = twirl + er

Built from 'twirl' + '-er', but in baseball the specialized sense 'pitcher' is a metaphorical usage not directly predictable from 'to spin' for many learners.

Etymology

Twirler comes from the verb twirl, which means 'to spin quickly', and the ending -er meaning 'someone who does that'. In baseball a twirler is a pitcher because they often 'twirl' or spin the ball in their hand before they throw, so the name links the action to the job.