get to first base
Idioms-
Also, reach first base.
-
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]
-
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
The main hook was that batters would have to use the donkey to get to first base.
From Washington Post • Aug. 14, 2021
When he stepped up to the plate, you just knew he would figure out a way to get to first base.
From New York Times • Mar. 29, 2018
In a place like Avalon he wouldn't get to first base.
From Ultima Thule by Reynolds, Mack
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.
