p-i-t-c-h
PITCH has many meanings: to throw, the angle of a slope, a sales presentation, musical tone, or black tar substance. In Scrabble, PITCH scores 12 base points with its valuable H and C tiles.
12
Points in Scrabble
Base tile values • No multipliers applied
PITCH exemplifies the remarkable versatility of English, carrying at least seven distinct meanings across sports, music, business, and construction. This linguistic chameleon adapts to context with ease, making it one of our most flexible five-letter words.
In sports, to pitch means to throw—especially in baseball, where the pitcher hurls the ball toward home plate. Cricket uses "pitch" differently, referring to the playing surface itself. The throwing sense extends metaphorically: we "pitch ideas," "pitch in to help," or "pitch a fit" when angry. This action-oriented meaning likely stems from the physical motion of throwing something forward.
Music gives pitch precise meaning: the frequency of a sound wave, determining how high or low a note sounds. Musicians speak of "perfect pitch" (identifying notes by ear), "pitch pipes" (tuning references), and being "off-pitch" (out of tune). The standard concert pitch sets A above middle C at 440 Hz, though this has varied historically and culturally.
In business, a pitch is a persuasive presentation—from elevator pitches (30-second summaries) to formal investor pitches seeking funding. This usage evolved from the carnival "pitch man" who sold from a fixed spot, combining location (pitched tent) with persuasion (throwing out sales talk). Modern startups live or die by their pitch decks.
Architecture and engineering use pitch to describe angles: roof pitch (steepness), screw pitch (thread spacing), or propeller pitch (blade angle). Maritime contexts include ship pitch (bow-to-stern rocking). The sticky black substance called pitch, derived from pine tar or petroleum, waterproofed ancient vessels—giving us the phrase "black as pitch" for absolute darkness.
For Scrabble players, PITCH offers solid scoring potential. The H (4 points) and C (3 points) combine with P (3 points) for good value, totaling 12 base points. The word's consonant cluster TCH at the end can be tricky to place but rewarding when successful. PITCH extends easily: PITCHED, PITCHER, PITCHING, PITCHY. It also works in compounds like FEVER-PITCH or PITCH-BLACK. The balanced structure makes it playable in tight board positions.
"Pitch" has two distinct etymological roots that merged in English, creating its diverse meanings. The throwing/musical sense and the tar substance have completely different origins.
Root 1 - Action/Angle/Music (from Middle English "picchen"): • Middle English: picchen (to thrust, fix, settle) • Origin uncertain: possibly from Old English *piccean • Related to: pick, pike (pointed implement) • Evolved meanings: throw (1200s) → set up (1300s) → slope (1500s) → musical tone (1600s)
Root 2 - Tar substance (from Latin "pix"): • Latin: pix, picis (pitch, tar) • Greek: pissa (πίσσα) • Proto-Indo-European: *pik- (pitch, resin) • Related words: piceous (pitch-black), depict (originally "to paint")
The business sense of "pitch" (sales presentation) emerged in the 1870s from carnival pitchmen who "pitched" their wares from fixed locations. The musical meaning developed from the idea of "placing" a note at a particular frequency. These diverse meanings showcase how physical actions (throwing, placing) evolve into abstract concepts (persuading, tuning).
•Baseball's fastest pitch ever recorded was 105.8 mph by Aroldis Chapman in 2010
•The standard musical pitch A=440 Hz was only established internationally in 1955
•"Elevator pitch" comes from the 30 seconds you might have with an executive in an elevator
"She had to pitch her startup idea to investors in just three minutes—every word counted."
"The roof's steep pitch helped snow slide off, but made repairs challenging for contractors."
Common idioms and phrases
Pitch perfect
Exactly right in tone or style
Sales pitch
Persuasive presentation
Pitch black
Completely dark
Make a pitch
Present a proposal
Fever pitch
State of extreme excitement
Words derived from pitch
Pitcher
One who pitches/container
Pitchfork
Farm tool for pitching hay
Pitchman
Salesperson, hawker
Pitchy
Off-key or tar-like
Pitched
Past tense/angled
THROW
Hurl through air
ANGLE
Geometric figure
TONE
Sound quality
SLOPE
Inclined surface
TAR
Black substance
SELL
Exchange for money
Similar length and difficulty words
Total base points: 12 (Scrabble)
Vowels: 1 | Consonants: 4
Practice unscrambling letters to find more high-scoring words like PITCH