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

The pretty harbour town of Nafplio, a couple of hours south of Athens, makes an ideal first base. —Helen Brown, TheWeek, 30 Apr. 2026

Joyce broke up Kiefer’s outs streak with a single down the first base line and Ryan singled to put runners on first and second with no outs. —Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026

So, too, did anxious teammates watching from the dugout along with coach Jory Regnier and assistant Megan Leadbetter, stationed at their regular posts at third and first base, respectively. —Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026

Ty France will man first base, Miguel Andujar will play third and Nick Castellanos will get the start in left field. —Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026

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