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

In his first news conference since the ruling - which the club has appealed - Arteta attempted to bat away questions, saying he wanted to "respect" the ongoing process.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

While Johnson’s elasticity as a performer is a bit more contentious, I’ve always found her choices fascinating — oscillating between rom-coms, superhero films and arthouse horror with the bat of a mascara’d eye.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

Their roster is filled with players who specialize in bat control, like Walls, veteran Cedric Mullins and speedster Chandler Simpson, who didn’t hit a home run this year but did have 14 bunt hits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Officials say the last animal confirmed to have rabies that wasn’t a bat was a skunk infected with the bat strain of rabies in Long Beach in 2014.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“Gross, man,” said Kojo, trying to high-step his way across the floor to avoid the sticky puddles of brown bat doo.

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

“Every at-bat’s important. He’s still swinging a hot bat. It absolutely carries over.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026

“He’s a transformational bat. He’s one of the best hitters in the game. So he’s impact, period,” Cashman said.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2023

"It was either going to be McCrispy or McSpicy. But I'm definitely keeping that bat. I'll get the handle fixed on it and she'll be good to go again."

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2023

“I just feel like he’s going to homer every time he swings the bat. I get it. My job is just to try and make it look like the wrong decision.”

From Washington Times ● Aug. 30, 2023

“Yeah, she’s just told me my ears are lopsided. Old bat. I wish old Uncle Bilius was still with us, though; he was a right laugh at weddings.”

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Labuschagne, who actually batted well for 37 before falling lbw to Wiaan Mulder to the last ball before lunch, has now gone 44 Test innings without a Test century.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The cloudless skies made every pop-up an adventure and the warm, dense air reduced drag, allowing batted balls to travel farther.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

After the collapse, Jacks could have swung hard but batted responsibly to stretch out the innings from 211-7 in the 39th over.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Dean Chemerinsky said that when the justices pooh-poohed and batted aside aesthetic injury claims, that really raised questions for standing in a massive amount of environmental lawsuits.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

I batted away the irritating blows, ducking and dodging more of that sticky stuff.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

The other new name in their ageing batting line-up from last winter's Ashes is 30-year-old Matt Renshaw, who made his debut 10 years ago.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

He would go on to have a hall-of-fame career, with a lifetime batting average of .283, with 3,110 hits and 465 home runs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The only question left to ask regarding San Marino is how many of the football players are visiting the batting cage before practice?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

An all-rounder for the better part of her first decade in cricket, she made herself indispensable to the side with her explosive middle-order batting, crafty off-spin and sharp fielding skills.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

I thought about batting my eyelashes, but he’d probably just think I had popcorn or something in my eye.

From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine

Related Words

• sock