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

Example Sentences

"The wicket got really good again for batting, it was slightly tacky earlier when we bowled," said Markram.

From Barron's

Overhead, I could hear the hissing whistles of feeding bats as they dipped and darted in the starlit sky.

From Literature

Outfielder Corbin Carroll stepped up to the plate for one of his first batting practice sessions of spring training earlier this month, took a swing and knew immediately that something was terribly wrong.

From The Wall Street Journal

But Brooks, who normally bats at number five, strode to the wicket first drop in a massive statement of intent that said "leave it to me, lads".

From Barron's

“There wasn’t a 3 at the start of my batting average last year, and that irks me,” Freeman said last week.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• sock