To make brief contact with someone to check in, update them, or maintain communication.
This phrase comes from baseball, where runners must physically touch each base to score safely. The term entered business vocabulary in the 1960s as a metaphor for making contact or checking in with colleagues, clients, or contacts to ensure everyone stays 'safe' and informed.
Despite being one of the most common phrases in business communication, 'touch base' is often mocked as corporate jargon, spawning humorous alternatives like 'touching base sounds unsanitary' and parody phrases like 'let's circle back and touch base.' Yet it persists because it perfectly captures the brief, maintenance-oriented nature of many professional interactions.
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