at bat

[at bat]

adverb

Baseball.

1. taking one's turn to bat in a game.

   And now Sanchez is at bat with two runners in scoring position.

noun

Baseball.

1. a player’s turn to bat, officially recorded as such unless the batter walks, is hit by a pitch, makes a sacrifice hit, or is interfered with by the catcher.

   In her debut appearance with the Rockford Peaches, she posted two hits in three at-bats.

Word History and Origins

Origin of at bat¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Idioms and Phrases

Taking one's turn. For example, At this conference, with so many interruptions, it's hard to tell which speaker is at bat, or I was nervous while waiting to testify, but once at bat I felt better. This idiom, from baseball, was already being transferred to other enterprises by the 1880s. Also see on deck.