bats
[ bats ]
/ bæts /
adjective Slang.
insane; crazy: He's gone bats.
Words nearby bats
Definition for bats (2 of 5)
Origin of bat
11175–1225; (noun) Middle English bat, bot, batte, Old English batt, perhaps < Celtic; compare Irish, Scots Gaelic bat, bata staff, cudgel; (v.) Middle English batten, partly from the noun, partly < Old French batre; see batter1
Definition for bats (3 of 5)
bat2
[ bat ]
/ bæt /
noun
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.
Origin of bat
21570–75; apparently < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish natt-batta, variant of Old Swedish natt-bakka night-bat; replacing Middle English bakke (< Scand), Middle English balke for *blake < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish natt-blacka
OTHER WORDS FROM bat
bat·like, adjectiveDefinition for bats (4 of 5)
bat3
[ bat ]
/ bæt /
verb (used with object), bat·ted, bat·ting.
to blink; wink; flutter.
Origin of bat
3First recorded in 1605–15; variant of bate2
Definition for bats (5 of 5)
batt
or bat
[ bat ]
/ bæt /
noun
a sheet of matted cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers.
Origin of batt
First recorded in 1830–40; special use of bat1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bats
British Dictionary definitions for bats (1 of 5)
bats
/ (bæts) /
adjective
informal crazy; very eccentric
Word Origin for bats
from bats-in-the-belfry (sense 2)
British Dictionary definitions for bats (2 of 5)
batt
/ (bæt) /
noun
textiles another word for batting (def. 1)
Australian and NZ a slab-shaped piece of insulating material used in building houses
British Dictionary definitions for bats (3 of 5)
bat1
/ (bæt) /
noun
verb bats, batting or batted
(tr) to strike with or as if with a bat
(intr) sport (of a player or a team) to take a turn at batting
See also bat around
Word Origin for bat
Old English batt club, probably of Celtic origin; compare Gaelic bat, Russian bat
British Dictionary definitions for bats (4 of 5)
bat2
/ (bæt) /
noun
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)Related adjective: chiropteran
slang an irritating or eccentric woman (esp in the phrase old bat)
blind as a bat having extremely poor eyesight
have bats in the belfry or have bats in one's belfry informal to be mad or eccentric; have strange ideas
like a bat out of hell slang very quickly
Derived forms of bat
batlike, adjectiveWord Origin for bat
C14 bakke, probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse ledhrblaka leather-flapper, Swedish dialect natt-batta night bat
British Dictionary definitions for bats (5 of 5)
bat3
/ (bæt) /
verb bats, batting or batted (tr)
to wink or flutter (one's eyelids)
not bat an eye or not bat an eyelid informal to show no surprise or concern
Word Origin for bat
C17: probably a variant of bate ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with bats
bat
In addition to the idioms beginning with bat
- bat an eye
- bat around
- bat one thousand
- bats in one's belfry, have
- bat the breeze
also see:
- at bat
- blind as a bat
- bats in one's belfry
- go to bat for
- like a bat out of hell
right off the bat.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.