Idiom
step up to the plate
Meaning
To initiate action; to assume or take a responsibility.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“It is time for you to step up to the plate.”
“When the team leader resigned, Sarah decided to step up to the plate and manage the project herself.”
“Faced with the sudden collapse of the department, the junior manager finally stepped up to the plate to lead the recovery efforts.”
Examples
simple
“It is time for you to step up to the plate.”
contextual
“When the team leader resigned, Sarah decided to step up to the plate and manage the project herself.”
complex
“Faced with the sudden collapse of the department, the junior manager finally stepped up to the plate to lead the recovery efforts.”
Origin
Derived from the sport of baseball, the idiom alludes to a player taking their turn at bat by moving to home plate. The phrase transitioned from the American diamond into general usage to describe the assumption of responsibility.
Key words
Related idioms
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