bats

American

[bats] / bæts /

adjective

Slang.

insane; crazy.

He's gone bats.

bats British

/ bæts /

adjective

informal crazy; very eccentric

"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

Etymology

Origin of bats

First recorded in 1915–20; bat ², -s ³

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Fans are going to ask: What is going on with the Dodgers’ bats?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Lib Dem county councillor, Julian Tooke, said "bats are protected and apparently we have 12 out of the 14 species that exist nationally so you have to find somewhere to move them".

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

That was supposed to be the U.S.—until more than a billion dollars’ worth of bats went oddly quiet.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez stifled the USA bats led by New York Yankees home run king Aaron Judge.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

I offer him the one I was using, but he bats it away.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023