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Meetings & Communicationverb phrase (idiom) · /tʌtʃ beɪs/

touch base

In simple English

To briefly connect with a colleague to exchange updates, check status, or align on something — typically informal and quick.

Someone wants to understand what "touch base" means when a coworker says it in a meeting or message.

At a glanceCEFR B1–B2
Commonness5/5
Versatility5/5
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDiplomatic
RegionUS and UK
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Say it like this

✓Let's touch base tomorrow morning.
✓I wanted to touch base with you about the timeline.
✓Can we touch base after the sprint ends?
✓Just touching base to see how things are going.
✓I'll touch base with the design team before we finalize.

Real examples

Standup

"I'll touch base with QA today to confirm the test cases."

Slack message

"Hey, can we touch base later about the API changes?"

GitHub PR

"I touched base with the security team and they approved this approach."

Jira ticket

"Touched base with stakeholders — requirements are confirmed."

Retrospective

"We should touch base more often to avoid miscommunication."

Sprint planning

"Let's touch base with DevOps before committing to this deadline."

Pair programming

"Let me touch base with Sarah first — she worked on this module last week."

Don't say this

✕I will touch base you tomorrow.
✓I will touch base with you tomorrow.— You always 'touch base WITH' someone — the preposition 'with' is required.
✕Let's touch a base about the project.
✓Let's touch base about the project.— 'Touch base' is a fixed phrase. Don't add 'a' before 'base'.
✕I touched bases with the team.
✓I touched base with the team.— 'Base' stays singular in this idiom, even when talking about multiple people.

Other forms

base form

touch base

"Let's touch base tomorrow."

past tense

touched base

"I touched base with him yesterday."

present continuous

touching base

"Just touching base about the deadline."

infinitive

to touch base

"I wanted to touch base with you."

Often used with

touch base withThe most common form — always followed by a person or team.
quickly touch baseEmphasizes the conversation will be short.
touch base aboutIntroduces the topic you want to discuss.
touch base before/afterSets timing for the conversation.
just touching baseA soft opener for messages — sounds friendly and low-pressure.

Similar words

check inVery similar — slightly more casual, often used for wellbeing.
catch upImplies a longer conversation, often about multiple topics.
sync upMore tech-focused — emphasizes alignment on work items.
loop inMeans to include someone — not exactly the same but related.
follow upUsually about a specific previous conversation or task.

Opposites

ignoreleave outdisconnectlose touch

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Choose the most natural sentence

1. You want to have a quick chat with your manager about the timeline.

Find the error

2. I touched bases with the product team yesterday.

Complete the sentence

3. Can we touch base ___ the deployment schedule?

Rewrite more naturally

4. I will have a brief talk with the design team to check on their progress.

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "touch base" in a standup this week?

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