home plate

American  

noun

Baseball.

1. the base at which the batter stands and which a base runner must reach safely in order to score a run, typically a five-sided slab of whitened rubber set at ground level at the front corner of the diamond.

---

home plate British  

noun

1. Also called: plate.   home.   home base.  baseball a flat often five-sided piece of hard rubber or other material that serves to define the area over which the pitcher must throw the ball for a strike and that a base runner must safely reach on his way from third base to score a run

---

Etymology

Origin of home plate

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

Example Sentences

After Bravo’s arms go up over his head in his windup, he also does a brief hesitation breathing in and out before throwing the ball toward home plate.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

This year, pitchers, catchers and hitters can appeal umpires’ calls at home plate to a machine equipped with technology that can accurately track the ball’s location to within a fraction of an inch.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Hernández stormed out of the dugout at Hiram Bithorn Stadium alongside his teammates to greet Hernaiz at home plate and celebrate the monumental moon shot.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026

He policed brushback pitches with ardor and once called a night game for darkness when lighting malfunctions compromised visibility near home plate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

I returned to first and saw our player who had been on third and who was now halfway to home plate turn sharply and start a panicky race back.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok