Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fastball

/fˈæstbˌɔl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.05 in modern English

Syllables: fast-ball
IPA: /fˈæstbˌɔl/

13

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A high-speed pitch of a baseball.

noun

A four-seam fastball, which is a backspin pitch thrown with a ball gripped in the direction to cause four of the seams of the ball to cross the flight path and released with roughly equal pressure by the index and middle fingers

verb

To throw (something) at a high speed.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Cam Smith bounced to shortstop on a 100 mph fastball, and Jacob Melton also grounded out on an 86.9 mph curveball."
"The pitcher had a blazing fastball."
"Kevin pushed away from the desk and fastballed it into the other man’s chest."
"Wyatt spurred his horse to the middle of the stones, reached into the corpse’s chest, yanked out the heart, and fastballed it at a vine-covered tree stump."
"He targeted a man standing a bit taller than the others and fastballed the lock in his direction. The lock somehow managed to miss everyone below and clattered against the pavement."

Etymology

From fast (adjective) + ball.

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

fastballs (plural) fastballs (present, singular) fastballing (participle, present) fastballed (participle, past) fastballed (past)

Derived Forms

fastballer

Phrases

fastball count split-fingered fastball Bugs Bunny change-up change-up cut fastball split-finger fastball two-seam fastball

Frequently Paired Words

Bugs Bunny change-up change-up curveball cut fastball gyroball knuckleball screwball sinker

Synonyms

cheese fireball gas heat hummer heater smoke bullet

Questions

How do you pronounce fastball?: The recorded pronunciation is /fˈæstbˌɔl/.
What does fastball mean?: A high-speed pitch of a baseball.
Where does fastball come from?: From fast (adjective) + ball.

How to pronounce fastball

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fastball”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/fˈæstbˌɔl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fastball”.
Repeat and practice — Say “fastball” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.