home run

American  

[hohm ruhn] / ˈhoʊm ˈrʌn /

noun

1. Also called homer.  Baseball. a hit that enables a batter, without the aid of a fielding error, to score a run by making a nonstop circuit of the bases. h.r., hr, HR

2. a complete or unqualified success.

   trying to hit a home run at the box office.

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home run British  

noun

1. baseball a hit that enables the batter to run round all four bases, usually by hitting the ball out of the playing area

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home run Idioms  

1. A highly successful achievement; also, doubling one's profits. For example, We scored a home run with that drug stock, buying it at 15 and selling at 30. This expression originated in the mid-1800s in baseball, where it refers to a pitched ball batted so far that the batter can round all three bases and reach home plate, scoring a run. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

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Etymology

Origin of home run

An Americanism first recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

“This is a home run for us,” Campo texted an associate just before he flew in.

From The Wall Street Journal

“To me, if we can make net power for a blip, that would already be a home run,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Once again, it was Andy Pages, whose three-run home run in the fifth inning gave the Dodgers a lead they never lost.

From Los Angeles Times

“I usually ask my wife, after I come back from the office, whether Shohei hit a home run. I think all the Japanese people do that.”

From Los Angeles Times

She also has hit several home runs in her varsity career, which she seems to use over her brother who has hit none.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• center
• dead center
• omphalos