first base

noun

1

: the base that must be touched first by a base runner in baseball

2

: the player position for defending the area around first base

3

: the first step or stage in a course of action

plans never got to first base

first baseman

-ˈbā-smən 

noun

Examples of first base in a Sentence

a runner on first base

She hit a ground ball to first base.

He used to be a catcher, but now he plays first base.

Recent Examples on the Web

A week into his spring training, Brett Baty has been limited only to taking defensive reps at first base. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 21 Feb. 2026

Bench coach Jeff Pickler, third base coach Andy Gonzalez, first base coach Doug Bernier, assistant hitting coach Jordan Pacheco and Schaeffer all took players aside to point out the nuances of the contact play. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 19 Feb. 2026

The Braves ended up hiring Richardson away from their NL East rivals to serve as first base coach and instruct players on base-running. —Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 19 Feb. 2026

There were some understandable growing pains when Devers picked up first base upon joining the Giants after a career at third base. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for first base

• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace
• biface
• birthplace
• blackface
• boldface
• bookcase
• braincase
• briefcase
• carcase

Kids Definition

first base

noun

: the base that must be touched first by a base runner in baseball

also : the position of the player defending the area around first base