Definition

1. Noun:
   • (Baseball) The final base a runner must touch to score a run: In baseball, "home base" is the plate at which the batter stands and which a base runner must touch to complete a run. It is often called "home plate."
   • (Figurative) A central or primary location for operations: "Home base" can refer to the main administrative center or headquarters of an organization, or a person's central point of activity and return.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Baseball):

  • The runner slid into home base just before the catcher tagged him.
  • The umpire signaled that the batter had crossed home base, so the run counted.

• Noun (Figurative/Central Location):

  • After traveling for months, it felt good to return to my home base in Chicago.
  • The company's home base is in London, but it has offices worldwide.

Advanced Usage

• "to touch home base": Literally, to make contact with home plate to score a run. Figuratively, to return to a central or foundational point.
  • The project manager made sure to touch home base with the main client before finalizing the proposal.
• "operate from a home base": To use a specific location as one's primary center of operations.
  • The journalist operates from a home base in Nairobi but covers stories across the continent.

Variants and Related Words

• Home plate (n): The official term for "home base" in baseball.
  • The pitcher aimed for the corner of the home plate.
• Headquarters (n): The administrative center of an organization (a common synonym for the figurative sense).
  • The army's headquarters issued a new directive.

Synonyms

• Headquarters (for the administrative sense).
• Nerve center (for the operational sense).
• Home plate (for the baseball sense).

Related Phrases

• "make it home": In baseball, to successfully reach home base and score. Figuratively, to successfully return to a safe or central point.
  • The player rounded third and sprinted to make it home.
  • After a long negotiation, we finally made it home with a signed contract.

Related Idioms

• "cover all the bases": To prepare for every possibility. This idiom originates from baseball, where players must defend the bases, including home base.
  • Before the product launch, the team worked hard to cover all the bases.

Noun

1. (usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise
   • many companies have their headquarters in New York
2. (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
   • he ruled that the runner failed to touch home