get to first base
Idioms-
Also, reach first base.
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Succeed in the initial phase of something; meet with preliminary approval. For example, They were delighted that they'd gotten to first base in the negotiations . This term alludes to the first base of baseball, which is the first step toward scoring a run for the batter's team. [c. 1900]
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Reach the initial stage of sexual intimacy, such as kissing. For example, Mary is so shy that I can't even get to first base with her . [1920s]
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.
“Guys that get to first base still go, ‘I cannot see the slider,’ and then he throws a 71-, 72-mph curveball,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
In the New York Mets’ game against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday, Jeff McNeil was waiting for his teammate, Pete Alonso, to get to first base after a walk.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 30, 2023
It took Hicks nine seconds to get to first base as he admired his work, which gave his team just a bit more time, at least, in this season.
From New York Times ● Oct. 18, 2019
He got into a bases-loaded jam because he didn’t get to first base in time to cover.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 2, 2015
In a place like Avalon he wouldn't get to first base.
From Ultima Thule by Mack Reynolds
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
