pitchfork

American

[pich-fawrk] / ˈpɪtʃˌfɔrk /

noun

a large, long-handled fork for manually lifting and pitching pitch pitching hay, stalks of grain, etc.
Northern U.S. pitchforks, beggar's-lice, especially the achenes of Spanish needles.

verb (used with object)

to pitch or throw with or as if with a pitchfork.

pitchfork British

/ ˈpɪtʃˌfɔːk /

noun

a long-handled fork with two or three long curved tines for lifting, turning, or tossing hay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

to use a pitchfork on (something)
to thrust (someone) unwillingly into a position

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pitchfork

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; pitch ¹, fork

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“When things crystallize like this, it brings out the pitchforks and the torches,” said Marc Cenedella, CEO of the jobs platform Ladders.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Grandpa, if I got close enough to that monkey to offer him something to eat I could lose my arm. He’s got teeth like a pitchfork.”

From Literature

A pitchfork plunged into my pile of straw.

From Literature

Still, it seems the villagers have put down their torches and pitchforks for now.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023