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, 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; 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 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

"Breaking: We've updated tonight's Ichiro Replica Statue giveaway," it posted on social media along with an image of a figurine with a broken bat.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

There is something magical about seeing Ohtani polish off his first inning on the mound, then immediately grab a bat and head to the plate without ever stopping in the dugout.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

"Christina has been sleeping heads down in the middle of the vehicle, kind of like a bat suspended from our docking tunnel," Wiseman explained, describing their preferred spots for shut-eye.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

And then I read it, and right off the bat, my character has the first three lines, all in caps, in a hospital room.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Hennessey, who was working catcher, casually hands him a bat as he steps up to the plate, and I jog to take over for her.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

Related Words

• sock