home run

American  

[hohm ruhn] / ˈhoʊm ˈrʌn /

noun

1. Also called homer.  Baseball. a hit that enables a batter, without the aid of a fielding error, to score a run by making a nonstop circuit of the bases. h.r., hr, HR

2. a complete or unqualified success.

   trying to hit a home run at the box office.

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home run British  

noun

1. baseball a hit that enables the batter to run round all four bases, usually by hitting the ball out of the playing area

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home run Idioms  

1. A highly successful achievement; also, doubling one's profits. For example, We scored a home run with that drug stock, buying it at 15 and selling at 30. This expression originated in the mid-1800s in baseball, where it refers to a pitched ball batted so far that the batter can round all three bases and reach home plate, scoring a run. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

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Etymology

Origin of home run

An Americanism first recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Damien 8, Etiwanda 5: Brady Bickham hit a three-run home run in the Baseline League win.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Nate Swinson had a two-run home run for Taft.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

Joseph Flores Jr. had a two-run home run and Anthony Murphy added two hits and two RBIs for the Panthers.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

Carlos Acuna hit the tie-breaking home run in the seventh.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2026

His chin got the hard look it got just before he slammed a home run, and after a minute you could tell he’d thought of something because his ears got red.

From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Related Words

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• dead center
• omphalos