home plate

noun

: a 5-sided rubber slab at one corner of a baseball diamond at which a batter stands when batting and which must be touched by a base runner in order to score

Examples of home plate in a Sentence

The runner was tagged out at home plate.

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, home plate umpire Chris Guccione had to wait to hear from the technician in the press box and then announce the result of the challenge. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026

Mexico’s Randy Arozarena stepped up to the plate to face USA star pitcher Paul Skenes, but not before extending his hand to acknowledge his Seattle Mariners teammate, Cal Raleigh, catching behind home plate. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 Mar. 2026

While the width of the strike zone remains unchanged at 17 inches over home plate, the height will vary by player. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2026

In the main corridor of the Rockies complex at Salt River Fields, a large photo is displayed showing Mabel reaching her tiny hand through the netting behind home plate to shake the 6-6 McGregor’s giant paw. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 1 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for home plate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

Kids Definition

home plate

noun

: the base where a baseball batter stands and which a base runner must touch in order to score