Meaning & use
pitchfork
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Meanings
nouncountable
A farm tool with a long handle and two or more sharp prongs, used to lift and throw hay or straw.
Grammar: Countable: a pitchfork, two pitchforks.
Patterns
- with a pitchfork
- a pitchfork full of hay
He tossed a forkful of hay into the loft with a pitchfork.
A rusty pitchfork leaned against the barn wall.
The farmer used a pitchfork to turn the compost.
nounusually pluralfigurative
A symbol of an angry crowd that wants to attack someone, often shown with torches.
Grammar: Often in the phrase torches and pitchforks.
Patterns
- grab your pitchforks
- torches and pitchforks
The crowd came with torches and pitchforks in the old film.
Online users grabbed their pitchforks after the company's announcement.
He said the media was ready to bring out the pitchforks.
verbtransitiverare
To lift or throw with a pitchfork.
Grammar: Takes an object: pitchfork the hay.
Patterns
- pitchfork something into something
She pitchforked the hay onto the wagon.
They pitchforked straw into the stable.
The farmhand pitchforked the manure into a pile.
Word forms
| plural | pitchforks |
|---|---|
| verb: past tense | pitchforked |
Common combinations
- torches and pitchforks
- The villagers marched with torches and pitchforks.
- wield a pitchfork
- He wielded a pitchfork to scare off the fox.
- pitchfork handle
- The pitchfork handle was worn smooth.
- hay and pitchfork
- A hay bale and a pitchfork stood in the barn.
- grab the pitchforks
- People grabbed the pitchforks over the unpopular decision.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hay fork
- A hay fork is the same tool, but the term stresses that it handles hay.
- trident
- A trident has exactly three prongs and is a weapon or symbol, as in Neptune's, rather than a farm tool.
- garden fork
- A garden fork is shorter and sturdier and is used to dig soil, not to throw hay.
- manure fork
- A manure fork has tines set for lifting dung, a narrower job than a pitchfork.
Word family
Commonly confused: pitchfork or trident? pitchfork or Pitchfork?
pitchfork vs trident
A trident has three pointed prongs and is a weapon or mythological symbol; a pitchfork is a farm tool.
pitchfork vs Pitchfork
Pitchfork with a capital is also the name of a music website, not the tool.
Practice
What is the figurative meaning of 'grab your pitchforks'?
Choose one answer.
The phrase refers to an angry mob rising against someone. The literal farm meaning does not fit the idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pitchfork”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.