forkball

Or fork ball

[fawrk-bawl]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Baseball.

a pitch thrown with the ball held deeply between the index and middle fingers, so that those fingers resemble a two-tined fork, causing the ball to dip sharply as it nears home plate.
Toward the end of his career, he developed a wicked forkball.

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of forkball¹

First recorded in 1915–20; fork + ball ¹

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He will have to learn to throw something other than a fastball, forkball and slider in the major leagues.

From

Alongside the baseball goals, like increasing the “perfect the forkball” or “strengthen the body core” are the qualities that Kanno has been relearning in Oshu: “sensitivity,” “caring,” becoming someone worthy of trust and love.

From

With a crowd of 36,236 sometimes standing and roaring in anticipation, the rookie right-hander got six strikeouts with his diving, disappearing “ghost forkball” and set a career high for innings in his 10th major league start.

From

The Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo, with a quirky windup and devastating forkball, pioneered Japanese players coming to the U.S. by quickly becoming an All-Star.

From

Sasaki has the fastball, the wipeout forkball, and a developing slider — and he just turned 21.

From

fork forked

Browse