Meaning & use
cutoff man
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Meaning
nouncountablesport
In baseball, a fielder who stands between an outfielder and a base to catch and relay a throw to stop a runner from advancing.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a cutoff man' or 'the cutoff man'. The plural is 'cutoff men'.
Patterns
- act as the cutoff man
- be the cutoff man
- throw to the cutoff man
The shortstop acted as the cutoff man and relayed the ball to home plate.
The outfielder threw to the cutoff man instead of trying for a direct throw to third.
If the cutoff man misses the ball, the runner will score easily.
Word forms
| plural | cutoff men |
|---|
Common combinations
- act as the cutoff man
- In that play, the second baseman acted as the cutoff man.
- throw to the cutoff man
- The center fielder threw to the cutoff man to keep the runner at second.
- the cutoff man relays the throw
- The cutoff man relays the throw to the catcher.
- position the cutoff man
- The coach told the team to position the cutoff man closer to the infield.
Synonyms and how they differ
- relay man
- A more general term for a player who relays a throw; 'cutoff man' is the specific baseball term for the fielder in this role.
- middleman
- Used in other sports or business for someone who passes something between two parties; in baseball, 'cutoff man' is the precise term.
Word family
- cutoff noun
- The act of stopping something or a shortcut; in baseball, it can also mean the act of cutting off a throw.
Commonly confused: cutoff man or catcher?
cutoff man vs catcher
The catcher is the player behind home plate who receives pitches. The cutoff man is a fielder in the outfield who relays throws. They have different positions and roles.
Practice
In baseball, what is the main job of the cutoff man?
Choose one answer.
The cutoff man stands between the outfielder and the base to catch and relay the throw, so option 2 is correct. Option 0 describes the pitcher, option 1 the catcher, and option 3 a baserunner.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cutoff man”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.