Synonyms

home plate

American

noun

Baseball.

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

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

"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 home plate

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

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.

On Tuesday, cameras caught Rushing muttering something after looking back at the Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee, who was in discomfort after an awkward slide at home plate.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

The cameras measure balls and strikes from a two-dimensional plane set in the middle of home plate.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

How much baseball culture revolves around the home plate ump?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 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

She rode the bike up to the backstop fence behind home plate and jumped off.

From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos

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