hit a home run

hit a home run

1. In baseball or softball, to get a hit that allows one to round all four bases and score, typically by hitting the ball past the limits of the outfield. If Lamont can hit a home run, we'll win the game!
2. By extension, to perform an action that is very successful. Our numbers have been down, so we really need to hit a home run this quarter in order to turn a profit for the year. It was an unexpected interview question, but I really feel like I hit a home run with my answer.
See also: hit, home, run
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hit a home run

AMERICAN
If you hit a home run, you do something that is very successful. They are creative people; if anyone could hit a home run, they could do it. The studio has hit a home run with its latest movie. Note: In baseball, when a batter hits a home run, they hit the ball a very long way, so that they are able to run round all the bases and score a run before the other team gets the ball back.
See also: hit, home, run
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • home run
  • center field
  • power hitter
  • fly past
  • fly past (someone or something)
  • it's outta here
  • pinch-hit
  • pinch-hit for
  • any (one) worth (one's) salt
  • round tripper
References in periodicals archive
"You really want it to end and guys have a tendency to want to be that guy to hit a home run," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.
White Sox on short end of long afternoon
Therefore, Zernial did not qualify because he did not hit a home run for the White Sox in the four games he played for them in 1951.
Fans speak out
1931 _ Bob Fothergill of Chicago hit a home run and a triple in an 11-run eighth inning.
BC-BBO--ThisDateinBaseba
Actually, I thought about ending the previous paragraph with the phrase "hit a home run," for the programs were all excellent.
In my book, the chapter hit a home run, by making everyone who was present feel at home.
Of baseball, amicus briefs, and a continuing commitment to educational excellence
10 Among players who hit a home run in their first major league at-bat, which of these sluggers finished with the most lifetime homers: Gary Gaetti, Carlos Lee, Jermaine Dye, Will Clark or Earl Averill?
Baseball quick quiz
For instance, one play that doesn't get much attention as a top All-Star Game moment was when 23-year-old Braves outfielder Max West became the first player to hit a home run in his first All-Star Game at-bat--a feat accom-plished by 11 other players since West.
10 most memorable plays in all-star game history
Todd Zeile is the only player in major league history to hit a home run
Players who hit a home run for most teams
There have been 12 different pitchers who have hit a home run in a World Series game.
Baseball quick quiz
Slumps tend to carry over, so I wasn't expecting much in the playoffs, but I hit a home run against Mickey Lolich in Game 4 against the Tigers.
Mike Epstein: former slugger remembers his home run off Mikey Lolich for Oakland during the 1972 American League Championship Series
"Nobody can go up and say he's going to hit a home run, they just come.
Once in a lifetime: some former major league players recall their only career grand slam
EARLIER THIS SEASON, TODD ZEILE BECAME THE FIRST PLAYER, SINCE 1900, TO HIT A HOME RUN FOR 10 DIFFERENT MAJOR LEAGUE TEAMS when he homered for the New York Yankees.
7th Inning stretch
When he hit a home run he didn't make a big to-do about it.
Hank Greenberg: former Detroit Tiger was one of the game's greatest sluggers
"The expectation for me every at-bat is to hit a home run or score a run or steal a base.
Barry Bonds once again earns Baseball Digest's Player of the Year honor. (Warm Up Tosses)
Did You Know ...that there are three members of the 500-Home Run Club who never hit a home run in a World Series game and three who newer hit one in an All-Star game?
MILESTONE HOMERS