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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the seventh inning, home plate umpire Ron Kulpa took a foul ball from Ozzie Albies off the facemask and left the game after meeting with the Braves athletic training staff. — ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026 Snell threw two pitches to Hao-Yu Lee and then, after a conversation with home plate umpire Chris Guccione, headed off the field and disappeared down the dugout tunnel. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026 Shortstop Willy Adames injured his left elbow sliding into home plate on Sunday, and was diagnosed with a left UCL sprain. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026 Once in extras the Red Sox retook the lead when Nick Sogard grounded out to move the ghost runner Wong to third, and the catcher came in to score on a wild pitch that bounced off the home plate umpire’s face mask. — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for home plate

Word History

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

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

Rhymes for home plate

See All Rhymes for home plate

Browse Nearby Words

homeplace
home plate
homeport
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Cite this Entry

“Home plate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/home%20plate. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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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

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about home plate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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