Dictionary

fastball en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From fast (adjective) + ball.

Meanings

1. A high-speed pitch of a baseball.
   • Cam Smith bounced to shortstop on a 100 mph fastball, and Jacob Melton also grounded out on an 86.9 mph curveball. 2025 June 11, “White Sox pitching prospect Grant Taylor makes jump from Double-A to perfect major league debut”, in Associated Press, archived from the original on 12 Jun 2025:
2. (specifically) A four-seam fastball, which is a backspin pitch thrown with a ball gripped in the direction to cause four of the seams of the ball to cross the flight path and released with roughly equal pressure by the index and middle fingers
   • The pitcher had a blazing fastball.

Forms

Deriveds

split-fingered fastball · fastball count · fastballer

Relateds

slider · spitball · knuckleball · screwball · split-finger fastball · Bugs Bunny change-up · sinker · two-seam fastball · gyroball · change-up · curveball · cut fastball

Synonyms

cheese · heat · fireball · gas · hummer

fastball en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From fast (adjective) + ball.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To throw (something) at a high speed.
   • Wyatt spurred his horse to the middle of the stones, reached into the corpse’s chest, yanked out the heart, and fastballed it at a vine-covered tree stump. 2007 December 6, Jennifer Rardin, chapter 5, in Another One Bites the Dust (Jaz Parks; 2), New York, N.Y.: Orbit, →ISBN, page 44:
   • He targeted a man standing a bit taller than the others and fastballed the lock in his direction. The lock somehow managed to miss everyone below and clattered against the pavement. 2014, Kenneth Calhoun, chapter 15, in Black Moon: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Hogarth, →ISBN, page 240:
   • Kevin pushed away from the desk and fastballed it into the other man’s chest. 2004, Richard Marinick, chapter 25, in Boyos: A Novel, Boston, Mass.: Kate’s Mystery Books, →ISBN, page 112:

Forms