as in substitutes
a person or thing that takes the place of another
the business owners brought in a pinch hitter until a permanent manager could be hired
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Recent Examples of pinch hitters
The club has five starting-caliber outfielders and can only play four at a time, and since four of those outfielders also bat left-handed, the Red Sox can’t even set up a platoon or effectively deploy pinch hitters late in game.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Agnifilo, Kaplan and Geragos are joining Weinstein’s team as pinch hitters ahead of his next appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court on March 4, with a trial date still to be set for the outstanding third-degree rape charge concerning an alleged assault on aspiring actor Jessica Mann in 2013.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
The Jays used four pinch hitters and defensive substitutions.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
There’s also pressure on the bench because teammates, like pinch hitters, never know when they may be subbed in.
—Candace Oehler, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
Agnifilo, Kaplan and Geragos are joining Weinstein’s team as pinch hitters ahead of his next appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court on March 4, with a trial date still to be set for the outstanding third-degree rape charge concerning an alleged assault on aspiring actor Jessica Mann in 2013.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
The Jays used four pinch hitters and defensive substitutions.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
There’s also pressure on the bench because teammates, like pinch hitters, never know when they may be subbed in.
—Candace Oehler, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pinch hitters
Noun
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James Milner featuring prominently in rondos between the substitutes before last Saturday’s 3-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers was a significant signal about the present and the future for Brighton & Hove Albion’s ‘old guard’.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
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Here are our best ginger substitutes, both fresh and ground.—
Kelsey Ogletree,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 May 2026
Noun
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These schools may very well be training their own replacements.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
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The frequent replacements mean a more frequent launching and a more frequent deorbiting compared to old-school missions designed with longer missions in mind.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
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Toho played the second period with mostly backups and Cornerstone took advantage, scoring on the game’s final play to win the quarter 13-0.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 May 2026
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Norton also offers full online backups for your files, with 50GB of total storage.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pinch hitters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pinch%20hitters. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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