step up to the plate

idiomatic phrase

baseball

: to move into position next to home plate in order to bat

In April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson stepped up to the plate for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in New York City.

—Nelida Gonzalez Cutler

—often used figuratively in U.S. English to refer to showing readiness to meet a challenge (as by increased effort or improved performance)

If you want this promotion, you're going to have to step up to the plate.

"The mother either needs to continue to be the disciplinarian or get the father to step up to the plate and be a team player."

—Barbara Lewin

Examples of step up to the plate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Major donors to the U.N. system should step up to the plate to make sure more resources are being targeted to achieve gender equality in official climate meetings, both for COPs and for constituted body sessions. —Catherine McKenna, Scientific American, 8 Nov. 2022

Now the show is finally ready to step up to the plate, with Amazon Prime Video releasing a teaser trailer and announcing a premiere date of Aug. 12. —Devan Coggan, EW.com, 7 June 2022

The question is: if the price gets down there, will enough of them step up to the plate? —John Navin, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2021

In the coming weeks, Tituss Burgess, Lil Jon and Wells Adams will step up to the plate. —Dory Jackson, PEOPLE.com, 31 Aug. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for step up to the plate

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• incapacitate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate