home plate

American  

noun

Baseball.

home plates plural

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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• home plates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of home plate

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

home plate

A fan sitting behind home plate at the Dodgers-Athletics game Tuesday night really had his head in the game — but not the game he was attending.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

At one point in his career, Lauer said, he struggled to explain the sensation of catching his heel on the mound as he completed his delivery toward home plate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

“You don’t want this heat,” one fan yelled from behind home plate.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026

Rojas tripped getting out of the batter’s box in the second inning, slid hard into home plate in the fifth inning, and was hit as he took a throw at second in the sixth.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026

She remembered years ago how she had treated herself to a game at the stadium, and that she had ticket number six in the center section over home plate, row B, next to seat seven.

From "Clayton Byrd Goes Underground" by Rita Williams-Garcia