Meaning & use
hockey pitches
Last updated
“hockey pitches” is a form of “hockey pitch”.
Meaning
nounpluralBritish
The marked playing areas, usually of grass or artificial turf, where field hockey is played.
Grammar: Countable plural; the singular is hockey pitch, and it is used mainly in British English.
Patterns
- a hockey pitch
- on the hockey pitches
- build new hockey pitches
The school has two hockey pitches behind the gym.
Players were warming up on the hockey pitches before the match.
Heavy rain left the hockey pitches too muddy for play.
Word forms
| singular | hockey pitch |
|---|
Common combinations
- artificial hockey pitches
- The club replaced its grass with artificial hockey pitches.
- on the hockey pitches
- The juniors practice on the hockey pitches every Tuesday.
- hockey pitches are waterlogged
- The hockey pitches are waterlogged after the storm.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hockey field
- Used more in American English and can also refer to the area around a rink in ice hockey.
- pitch
- A general British word for a sports playing area; hockey pitches is the specific field-hockey term.
Word family
- hockey noun
- The sport played on these pitches.
- pitch noun
- A marked area for a game, especially in British English.
Commonly confused: hockey pitches or hockey rink?
hockey pitches vs hockey rink
A rink is the ice surface for ice hockey; a pitch is the grass or turf surface for field hockey.
Practice
Which sentence uses the term correctly?
Choose one answer.
Hockey pitches are outdoor surfaces for field hockey, so practicing on them fits. Option 0 confuses pitches with an ice rink, option 2 is odd because you score on a pitch, not on pitches in general, and option 3 has a plural subject with a singular verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hockey pitches”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.