Showing results for "bat"

• a variation of batt.

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  bat.

  abbreviation

  battalion.

bat

¹ American  

[bat] / bæt /

noun

1. Sports.

   1. the wooden club used in certain games, as baseball and cricket, to strike the ball.

   2. a racket, especially one used in badminton or table tennis.

   3. a whip used by a jockey.

   4. the act of using a club or racket in a game.

   5. the right or turn to use a club or racket.

2. a heavy stick, club, or cudgel.

3. Informal. a blow, as with a bat.

4. any fragment of brick or hardened clay.

5. Masonry. a brick cut transversely so as to leave one end whole.

6. British Slang. speed; rate of motion or progress, especially the pace of the stroke or step of a race.

7. Slang. a spree; binge.

   to go on a bat.

8. Ceramics.

   1. a sheet of gelatin or glue used in bat printing.

   2. a slab of moist clay.

   3. a ledge or shelf in a kiln.

   4. a slab of plaster for holding a piece being modeled or for absorbing excess water from slip.

9. batt.

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verb (used with object)

batted, batting

1. to strike or hit with or as if with a bat or club.

   Synonyms:

   clobber, clout, slug, sock, smack, swat, wallop, knock

2. Baseball. to have a batting average of; hit.

   He batted .325 in spring training.

verb (used without object)

batted, batting

1. Sports.

   1. to strike at the ball with the bat.

   2. to take one's turn as a batter.

verb phrase

1. bat around

   1. Slang. to roam; drift.

   2. Informal. to discuss or ponder; debate.

      We batted the idea around.

   3. Baseball. to have every player in the lineup take a turn at bat during a single inning.

2. bat in to cause (a run) to be scored by getting a hit.

   He batted in two runs with a double to left.

3. bat out to do, write, produce, etc., hurriedly.

   I have to bat out a term paper before class.

idioms

1. at bat, see at bat.

2. go to bat for, to intercede for; vouch for; defend.

   to go to bat for a friend.

3. bat the breeze. breeze.

4. right off the bat, at once; without delay.

   They asked me to sing right off the bat.

bat ² American  

[bat] / bæt /

noun

1. any of numerous flying mammals of the order Chiroptera, of worldwide distribution in tropical and temperate regions, having modified forelimbs that serve as wings and are covered with a membranous skin extending to the hind limbs.

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idioms

1. blind as a bat, nearly or completely blind; having very poor vision.

   Anyone can tell that he's blind as a bat, but he won't wear glasses.

2. have bats in one's belfry, to have crazy ideas; be very peculiar, erratic, or foolish.

   If you think you can row across the ocean in that boat, you have bats in your belfry.

bat ³ American  

[bat] / bæt /

verb (used with object)

batted, batting

1. to flutter; blink; wink.

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idioms

1. not bat an eye, to show no emotion or surprise; maintain a calm exterior.

   The murderer didn't bat an eye when the jury announced its verdict of guilty.

bat. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. battalion.

2. battery.

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bat ¹ British  

/ bæt /

noun

1. any of various types of club with a handle, used to hit the ball in certain sports, such as cricket, baseball, or table tennis

2. a flat round club with a short handle, resembling a table-tennis bat, used by a man on the ground to guide the pilot of an aircraft when taxiing

3. cricket short for batsman

4. any stout stick, esp a wooden one

5. informal a blow from such a stick

6. a small board used for tossing the coins in the game of two-up

7. slang a drinking spree; binge

8. slang speed; rate; pace

   they went at a fair bat

9. another word for batting

10. cricket (of an opening batsman) to reach the end of an innings without being dismissed

11. 1. of one's own accord; without being prompted by someone else

    2. by one's own unaided efforts

12. informal immediately; without hesitation

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verb

1. (tr) to strike with or as if with a bat

2. (intr) sport (of a player or a team) to take a turn at batting

bat ² British  

/ bæt /

noun

1. any placental mammal of the order Chiroptera , being a nocturnal mouselike animal flying with a pair of membranous wings (patagia). The group is divided into the Megachiroptera ( fruit bats ) and Microchiroptera ( insectivorous bats )

2. slang an irritating or eccentric woman (esp in the phrase old bat )

3. having extremely poor eyesight

4. informal to be mad or eccentric; have strange ideas

5. slang very quickly

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bat ³ British  

/ bæt /

verb

1. to wink or flutter (one's eyelids)

2. informal to show no surprise or concern

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bat More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bat

• at bat
• bats in one's belfry
• blind as a bat
• go to bat for
• like a bat out of hell
• right off the bat

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Other Word Forms

• batlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of bat¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun bat, bot, batte, Old English batt, perhaps from Celtic; compare Irish, Scots Gaelic bat, bata “staff, cudgel”; Middle English verb batten, partly from the noun, partly from Old French batre; see batter ¹

Origin of bat²

First recorded in 1570–75; apparently from Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish natt-batta, variant of Old Swedish natt-bakka “night-bat”; replacing Middle English bakke, bak (from Scandinavian), Middle English balke for unrecorded blake, from Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish natt-blacka, Old Icelandic ledhr-blaka “bat,” equivalent to ledhr “skin, leather” + blaka “flutter”

Origin of bat³

An Americanism dating back to 1835–40, extended sense of earlier “flutter like a hawk” first recorded in 1605–15; variant of see origin at bate ²

Explanation

A bat is used in the sports of baseball and cricket to hit a small, hard ball. In baseball, a bat can be made out of wood or aluminum. Bat can be a verb as well: when you're up at bat in a baseball game, it means it's your turn to bat with the bat. There is also an animal called a bat, a small, nocturnal bird-like mammal. People can be said to "bat their eyelashes," or flutter them flirtatiously, as well. This last meaning, from the mid-1800s, comes from an earlier sense of bat, "flutter like a hawk's wings."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bat bat. batted batting

The Reds have left-handed starters scheduled for two of the four games, making Rojas’ right-handed bat valuable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

One man was spotted riding his cricket bat like a hobby horse toward the dunes, slapping his backside in the breeze.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Gay's average in his six Tests is below 25 and his frustration at his second-innings dismissal against Pakistan came out with a swish of his bat towards the stumps.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

As part of the study, Vazquez grew cells collected from bat wing biopsies in the laboratory.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026

“Did somebody step in that bat guano in the other room?”

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

“It hit bat, then hand and pinched my hand onto the bat. Next pitch, I swung. I could swing, and I swung again. As the adrenaline wore off, pain got a little bit more.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

"When he last came to England he played with hard hands and pushed at the ball. Now he allows the ball to come and hit the bat. He is trusting his defence."

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025

“So all the boys who were here the first year, the first game you’re not winning it right off the bat. You’ve got to keep pushing.”

From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2023

“Diving in — that inside strike looks like a ball, or if I swing I’m going to end up breaking my bat. So, yeah, you can definitely feel it,” Abrams said.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2022

“Thanks, but I already know how to swing a bat. And my name, by the way, is Turner. Turner Ernest Buckminster.”

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

He batted against Hall-of-Famers, frequently slammed face-first into outfield fences and experienced the pressure cooker of the postseason.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

He batted at the ideal tempo and though he missed the chance to reach a maiden international century the next two Tests look an ideal opportunity to press his case.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Though he will be annoyed to get out misjudging the length of spinner Usman Ali as Brook did, Jordan Cox batted with similar restraint and class for his 73.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

When the FDA approved Ozempic in 2017 and Wegovy in 2021, hardly anyone batted an eye.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

It was the cat, sitting smug on Shotgun Cheatham’s breathless chest, who’d batted at the gauze the way a cat will.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

He’s set to progress to hitting off coach-thrown batting practice this week, Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

One acquaintance remembers Coxon batting around different career paths as he searched for ways to optimize his life trajectory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

He has been particularly tough against the Dodgers, batting .348 with a .483 on-base percentage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Bradley took him to the batting cages to administer the eye test.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

We threw the ball around a few more minutes, and then I went up to home plate for some batting practice.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Related Words

• sock