Touch Base | Meaning, Definition & Examples

Touch base is an expression meaning “make contact” or “reconnect.” It’s used to describe the act of briefly communicating with someone or something (e.g., a team).

The expression is thought to have originated in the sport of baseball. It’s most often used in a business context, but it can also be used in informal contexts to mean the same thing. It’s rarely used in formal or academic writing.

Touchbase or touch base

“Touchbase” is sometimes used as a noun to refer to a meeting in which the participants touch base. But it’s not regarded as a real word by dictionaries.

If you want to use the term as a noun, more correct ways to do so are to hyphenate it (“touch-base”) or to use the term “touch base meeting.”

Touching base

The verb “touch” in this expression changes form depending on the subject and tense of a sentence. “Touching” is the present participle of “touch” and is used to describe an action that’s ongoing. The noun “base” never changes form in the expression.

Touch base meeting

A touch base meeting (or touch-base meeting) is a brief meeting in which one or more employees touch base with their manager. In this phrase, “touch base” is used as an adjective modifying the noun “meeting.”

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If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

Frequently asked questions

What is a synonym of “touch base”?

Some synonyms for touch base include:

• Catch up
• Chat
• Have a chat
• Reconnect

Is it “touch base,” “touch bases,” or “touch basis”?

“Touch bases” is sometimes mistakenly used instead of the expression touch base, meaning “reconnect briefly.” In the expression, the word “base” can’t be pluralized—the idea is more that you’re both touching the same “base.”

“Touch basis” is a misspelling of “touch bases” and is also incorrect.

What does “let’s touch base” mean?

Let’s touch base is an expression used to suggest to someone that you touch base or briefly reconnect. It’s rarely used in formal or academic writing.