first base

American  

noun

• first bases
  plural

1. Baseball.

   1. the first in counterclockwise order of the bases from home plate.

   2. the position of the player covering the area of the infield near first base.

---

idioms

1. get to first base,

   1. to succeed in the initial phase of a plan or undertaking.

      His suggestions for labor-saving techniques never got to first base.

   2. to engage in petting that goes no further than kissing.

first base British  

noun

1. baseball

   1. the base that a runner must reach safely to score a hit, and the first of the three bases he must reach safely on the way to home plate in order to score a run

   2. the fielding position nearest this base

2. informal to accomplish the first step of an undertaking

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• first bases
  plural

Etymology

Origin of first base

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

first base

Samantha dropped the bat and sprinted toward first base.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

He is absurdly fast, sprinting from the left-handed batter’s box to first base in just 3.96 seconds, better than anybody else in MLB.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Arraez came up as a second baseman, but over time, his poor performance there shifted him over to the less-demanding first base position.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

But he said he recalled players from visiting teams hammering a long ball and passing him at first base, thinking “they had a home run, and then making a right turn back to the dugout.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

“How about we make third base the part of the fence with the gate? And first base is only the right side of the tree,” I suggest.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan