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

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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

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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

Ohtani got his bat head down to a cutter from former Dodgers pitcher Dustin May on the inside corner.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Set a world record 421 to win, they need to bat out the final day for a draw with six wickets remaining.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Do the Dodgers need to mix in some small ball and change their approach at bat?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 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

Frank spent more time practicing with his brain than with his baseball bat.

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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026

Ayub said: "Some balls were keeping low so it was difficult to bat. You can see the pitch was slow and turning, double-paced with the fast bowlers."

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2024

“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

“Diving in — that inside strike looks like a ball, or if I swing I’m going to end up breaking my bat. So, yeah, you can definitely feel it,” Abrams said.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2022

“It’s not a bat. It’s a black butterfly,” Mundín observes, leaping up to catch it.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

That worked with Ohtani, who had as many strikeouts as hits in the first two games of the division series, when he batted second.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

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

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

Heading into the final week of the 2026 season, Mr. Alonso led the American League in runs batted in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The demon hissed and batted the drum away.

From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan

It had been a maddening couple of months as Ohtani battled injuries, slid down the batting order and failed to produce when the Dodgers needed him most — in the postseason.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

At 37, Freddie Freeman was the oldest player in baseball this season to qualify for the batting title.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

He led Milwaukee with 26 homers, to go along with his .266 batting average, 86 RBIs and .874 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Australia will have their own decisions to make over the batting line-up after being forced into changes for the first Test.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Gagging on the vapors, I threw myself forward blindly, batting away the sparks that landed on my skin.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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