get to first base
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to achieve the initial stage of something
Literally: reach the first base in baseball
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
They're trying to get funding, but they can't even get to first base with their proposal
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “get to first base” mean?
to achieve the initial stage of something Literally: reach the first base in baseball
Is “get to first base” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.