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 As Arozarena lay on his belly, repeatedly tapping home plate with both hands and wearing a smile of delighted surprise on his face, he was completely ignored in the postgame euphoria. David Waldstein, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2023 Then Reyes swung from his heels and caught the edge of the pitch and sent the ball blistering back over the netting behind home plate. Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2023 The Rangers are trying to tweak Leiter’s delivery to slow him down a bit and get him in a better direction moving toward home plate. Evan Grant, Dallas News, 16 Aug. 2023 Tickets won’t be available to purchase on site at the Brewers box office, but will-call for picking up tickets will be at the box office near the home plate gate. Journal Sentinel, 8 Aug. 2023 The one who touches home plate, no matter how dramatic his route to get there, is just the last click of the machine. David Waldstein, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2023 Exuberant after hitting a walk-off grand slam to beat Seattle in 10 innings, Kendrys Morales lands awkwardly jumping on home plate, breaks a leg and is out for the season. 2014: Top starter Garrett Richards shreds a knee while covering first base at Fenway Park in August. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023 Hays was originally called out, but Hyde won his challenge because Díaz was illegally blocking home plate. Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 26 Aug. 2023 Stealing three bases on two pitches, including home plate? Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 10 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'home plate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of home plate was in 1866

Dictionary Entries Near home plate

Cite this Entry

“Home plate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/home%20plate. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.

Kids Definition

home plate

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

More from Merriam-Webster on home plate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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