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

Like veteran Atlanta pilot Brian Snitker, McCullough was a minor-league catcher who became a coach, manager, and minor-league field coordinator before finally reaching the majors as first base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers under Dave Roberts. —Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025

Torres especially struggled moving toward first base and back. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025

After starting at first base and serving as DH in his previous appearances, Sheets pinch-ran for Jason Heyward in the fourth inning and then replaced him in left. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025

According to Baseball-Reference’s Stathead, there have only been nine players in league history to play at least 100 games at first base who were 6-7 or taller, a list that includes Frank Howard, Tony Clark and Richie Sexson. —Justice Delos Santos, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025

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