Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

knuckleball

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.88 in modern English

Syllables: knuck-le-ball
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A pitch thrown with the ball gripped on the fingertips and released with no rotation, which travels over an unpredictable path to the plate due to microturbulence in the air.

noun

A type of delivery where a fast bowler holds the ball on the knuckles of the index and middle fingers.

noun

An event that is hard to predict.

Informal

verb

To pitch knuckleballs.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"Even the pitcher doesn't know where his knuckleball is going."
"Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield is best known for his use of the knuckleball."
"Our vendor keeps throwing us knuckleballs."
"Varitek did not start so Kevin Cash could catch the knuckleballing starter Tim Wakefield."

Etymology

From knuckle + ball.

Usage

Inflected Forms

knuckleballs (plural) knuckleballs (present, singular) knuckleballing (participle, present) knuckleballed (participle, past) knuckleballed (past)

Derived Forms

knuckleballer

Phrases

cut fastball split finger fastball two-seam fastball

Frequently Paired Words

curveball cut fastball fastball screwball sinker slider split finger fastball two-seam fastball

Synonyms

flutterball floater dancer butterfly ball ghostball bug knuckler

Questions

What does knuckleball mean?: A pitch thrown with the ball gripped on the fingertips and released with no rotation, which travels over an unpredictable path to the plate due to microturbulence in the air.
Where does knuckleball come from?: From knuckle + ball.

How to pronounce knuckleball

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