We have all been there. You are staring at an email draft, finger hovering over the "send" button, wondering if you should write "let's touch bases" or "let's touch basis." It feels like one of those tiny grammar traps designed specifically to make you look like you didn't pay attention in middle school. Honestly? Most people just guess. They pick the one that sounds slightly more professional in the moment, hit send, and hope for the best.
But here is the thing: one of these is a total ghost. It doesn't actually exist in the English language, yet it shows up in thousands of corporate Slack channels every single day.
If you have ever felt a little smug correcting a coworker, or if you have been the one corrected, this is for you. We’re going to tear apart why people say "touch basis," why "touch base" is the actual winner, and how this whole mess started on a dirt diamond over a century ago.
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The Reality of Touch Base vs. Touch Basis
Let's get the blunt truth out of the way immediately. The correct idiom is "to touch base." There is no such thing as "touch basis" in any reputable dictionary. You won't find it in Merriam-Webster. You won't find it in the Oxford English Dictionary. When people say "touch basis," they are usually falling victim to a linguistic phenomenon called an eggcorn—that's when a word or phrase is misheard and replaced with something that sounds similar. Because the word "basis" feels more "businessy" and formal, our brains trick us into thinking it belongs in a professional check-in. It doesn't.
Actually, let's look at the pluralization too. "Touch bases" is technically okay if you are talking about meeting with several different people or hitting several different points. If you are going to talk to HR, then Finance, then the CEO, you might say you are "touching bases" across the company. But for a single meeting? Stick to the singular "base."
Why Baseball Is To Blame
Language usually evolves from something concrete. In this case, it’s baseball.
Think about the physical act. A runner has to physically touch the base to be safe or to progress. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this terminology started leaking into everyday American slang. By the time World War I rolled around, military personnel were using "touching base" to mean briefly checking in with a superior or a command post.
By the 1970s and 80s, the phrase had been fully hijacked by corporate America. It became the ultimate "non-meeting" meeting. It sounds less threatening than "I need a status report" and more collaborative than "Why isn't this done yet?"
But because we moved so far away from the literal dirt and grass of a baseball field, people lost the mental image. When you lose the image, you lose the spelling. That’s how we ended up with "basis." People started thinking about the "basis" of a conversation rather than the "base" of a runner. It makes a sort of logical sense, even if it’s grammatically wrong.
The Problem With Corporate Speak
Language experts like Bryan Garner, author of Garner's Modern American Usage, have pointed out that "touch base" is one of the most overused clichés in the professional world. It’s part of a family of "jargon" that includes things like "low-hanging fruit" and "synergy."
When you use "touch base," you aren't just checking in. You are signaling that you belong to a specific professional culture. But there’s a risk. Overusing these phrases can make you sound like an AI-generated version of a manager.
If you use "touch basis," you're making a different mistake. You're trying to sound smart but accidentally using a "malapropism." It's like saying "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes." People will know what you mean, but the "grammar police" in your office—and let's be real, every office has at least three—will definitely notice.
How to actually use it without sounding like a robot
If you really want to stick with the phrase, keep it simple.
- Correct: "I’ll touch base with you on Tuesday."
- Correct (but rare): "We need to touch bases with both the legal and marketing teams."
- Incorrect: "Let's touch basis after the holiday."
Honestly, I think we can do better. If you’re writing to a client or a high-level executive, "touch base" can feel a bit lazy. It’s vague. What are you actually doing? Are you asking for a decision? Are you providing an update? Are you just saying hi?
Alternatives That Make You Sound More Competent
If you want to avoid the "base vs basis" trap entirely, just use different words. It sounds simple because it is. Clear communication is almost always better than using a catch-all idiom.
Try "I’d like to get your thoughts on X." This is specific. It tells the recipient exactly what you want. Or maybe "Let's sync up for five minutes." It’s still informal, but it feels more modern. "Check in" is the old reliable. It’s hard to mess up "check in."
You could also try:
- "Update you on..."
- "Gather your feedback on..."
- "Briefly discuss..."
- "Revisit our conversation about..."
The goal is to be a person, not a template.
Why Do We Keep Getting It Wrong?
It’s about phonetics. In fast speech, the "s" sound at the end of "base" often blends into the next word. If the next word starts with a vowel or a soft consonant, your brain fills in the gaps. "Touch base with" sounds remarkably like "touch basis with" if you’re speaking quickly.
Also, we live in a world of "basis." We talk about things on a "daily basis," a "regular basis," or a "need-to-know basis." Our brains are primed to use that word in a professional context. It’s a classic case of cognitive interference. You’re reaching for a professional-sounding word, and "basis" is just sitting there in the front of your mental filing cabinet, looking all sophisticated and ready to go.
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The Evolution of the "Checking In" Culture
We are currently living through a "check-in" epidemic. With the rise of remote work and tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, the "touch base" has become the default unit of human interaction.
Research from Harvard Business Review has shown that while these brief interactions are necessary for coordination, they often lead to "collaboration fatigue." When someone asks to "touch base," they are often asking for a slice of your time without giving you a clear agenda.
This is where the grammar mistake actually matters. If you are going to interrupt someone's workflow, you want to come across as sharp and deliberate. Using the wrong phrase—like "touch basis"—undermines that. It suggests you aren't paying attention to the details. And in business, details are everything.
A Note on Regional Variations
Is this just an American thing? Mostly, yes.
While the phrase has spread to the UK, Australia, and Canada, it remains most heavily used in the United States. In British English, you might hear people say they want to "catch up" or "have a quick word." They generally find "touching base" to be a bit "Americanized" and "corporate." If you’re working with international teams, being aware of these subtle shifts in tone can actually help you build better rapport.
Stop Overthinking It
At the end of the day, language is for communication. If you say "touch basis" to your best friend at work, they aren't going to disown you. They know what you mean.
But if you’re writing a cover letter, a proposal, or an email to a new lead, the "base" matters. It's the foundation. (See what I did there? A foundation is a basis, but a runner hits a base.)
The linguistic drift we see with this phrase is just a tiny part of how English changes. Words fall out of favor. Sports metaphors get weird. We start saying things like "on accident" instead of "by accident" because it feels right to our ears, even if the history books disagree.
But for now, "touch base" is the king. Leave "basis" for your spreadsheets and your logical arguments.
How to Handle Being Corrected
If someone points out that you used "touch basis" incorrectly, don't get defensive. It’s a tiny thing. Just say, "Good catch, I think I’ve been staring at the screen too long," and move on.
The worst thing you can do is try to argue that "basis" makes more sense. It doesn't matter if it makes sense; it matters what the established idiom is. You wouldn't say "barking up the wrong shrub" just because shrubs are smaller than trees and it "makes more sense" for a small dog. You stick to the tree. Stick to the base.
Actionable Steps for Better Business Writing
To ensure you never make this mistake again—and to improve your overall communication—follow these simple rules.
- Visualize the Baseball Field: If you’re about to type it, think of a runner sliding into second. Runners don't slide into a "basis." They slide into a base.
- Search Your Sent Items: Go into your email "Sent" folder right now and search for "basis." If you see "touch basis" appearing in multiple threads, you’ve developed a bad habit.
- Kill the Cliché: Try to go an entire week without using the phrase "touch base" at all. Force yourself to use more descriptive language. You’ll be surprised at how much more clearly you communicate when you can’t rely on a crutch.
- The S Test: If you’re tempted to say "touch bases," ask yourself if you are literally contacting multiple separate entities. If the answer is no, delete that "s." Keep it singular.
- Read it Aloud: The "is" sound at the end of "basis" is very distinct when spoken slowly. If you read your email back to yourself and it sounds like "bay-sis," you know you’ve got a typo.
Communication is the most important skill in the modern workplace. It’s the difference between getting the promotion and staying exactly where you are. Little errors like "touch basis" won't sink your career, but avoiding them shows a level of polish and attention to detail that people notice. Stick to the "base," keep your check-ins brief, and always know why you’re reaching out in the first place.