Meaning & use
touch base
Last updated
Meaning
phraseintransitiveinformal
To make brief contact with someone to share news or check progress.
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase; often followed by 'with' before the person.
Patterns
- touch base with someone
- touch base about something
- touch base on something
I'll touch base with you next week to see how the project is going.
Let's touch base after the meeting to discuss the details.
She touched base with her team before the deadline.
Word forms
| third person singular | touches base |
|---|---|
| past tense | touched base |
| past participle | touched base |
| -ing form | touching base |
Common combinations
- touch base with someone
- I need to touch base with the client about the new timeline.
- touch base about something
- We touched base about the budget yesterday.
- touch base on something
- Let's touch base on the marketing plan soon.
- touch base later
- Can we touch base later today?
Synonyms and how they differ
- check in
- Check in is similar but often implies a more formal or scheduled contact; touch base is more casual and brief.
- catch up
- Catch up usually involves sharing more detailed news after time apart; touch base is a quick, often work-related contact.
- contact
- Contact is neutral and can be used in any situation; touch base is informal and common in business English.
Commonly confused: touch base or touch bases?
touch base vs touch bases
'Touch base' is the standard form; 'touch bases' is sometimes used informally but is less accepted, especially in writing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'touch base' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses 'touch base with' to mean make brief contact. Option 1 wrongly uses 'touch base' as a transitive verb with an object; option 2 uses 'for' instead of 'with'; option 3 omits the necessary preposition 'with' or 'about'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “touch base”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.