at bat

American  

[at bat] / ˈæt ˈbæt /

adverb

Baseball.

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

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

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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.

at bat Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of at bat

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

at bat

First high school at bat for freshman Louis Lappe is RBI double.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026

Westlake was unable to rally in the bottom of the seventh, ending a streak of six straight home games in which the Warriors won on walk-offs in their final at bat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025

Can he still generate the power needed to be productive at bat?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2024

When the White Sox had their turn at bat, Tim Anderson slammed a two-run homer way out into the corn, winning the game, 9-8.

From NewsForKids.net ● Apr. 12, 2024

Finally, as the third inning was about to start, Frank got a chance to talk to Conor, who was first up at bat.

From "The Missing Mitt (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #2)" by Franklin W. Dixon