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

Trey Ebel had a home run and three RBIs.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

“He’s going to hit a home run at some point,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said of Tatis recently.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

Once, when a player hit a home run, Turner ran on the field to congratulate him.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

He had a solo home run in the second inning to right field, a three-run home run in the third to right field and a solo home run in the sixth to left field.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

I don’t want to scare Semaj when Dusty Baker hits his home run, so I swing the Wiffle in slow motion.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

Related Words

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• dead center
• omphalos