second base

noun

1

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

2

: the player position for defending the area on the first-base side of second base

3

slang + impolite : amorous touching or caressing especially of the breasts

—usually used in phrases like get to second base or reach second base

We had started making out, but he had only gotten to second base so far.

—Helene Cooper

compare first base sense 4, home base sense 3, third base sense 3

second baseman noun

Examples of second base in a Sentence

He slid into second base.

He used to play second base for the Red Sox.

Recent Examples on the Web

The team’s biggest question marks entering the offseason are second base, third base, center field and the bullpen. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 29 Oct. 2026

Then catcher Nick Fortes caught Garrett Mitchell trying to steal second base to end the inning. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026

The two-out sequence in the fifth inning where Junior Caminero couldn’t quite get the ball to second base in time for the third out, followed by the ball that tipped off the end of Taylor Walls’ glove. — Levi Weaver, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2026

Replay showed that shortstop Cooper Pratt pulled his foot off second base and the call was overturned, scoring a run. — Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for second base

• aerospace
• anatase
• anyplace
• commonplace
• cyberspace
• database
• diabase
• diastase
• dnase
• elastase
• fireplace
• hyperspace

Kids Definition

second base

noun

: the base that must be touched second by a base runner in baseball or the position of the player defending the area around it