bat
1Sports.
the wooden club used in certain games, as baseball and cricket, to strike the ball.
a racket, especially one used in badminton or table tennis.
a whip used by a jockey.
the act of using a club or racket in a game.
the right or turn to use a club or racket.
a heavy stick, club, or cudgel.
Informal. a blow, as with a bat.
any fragment of brick or hardened clay.
Masonry. a brick cut transversely so as to leave one end whole.
British Slang. speed; rate of motion or progress, especially the pace of the stroke or step of a race.
Slang. a spree; binge: to go on a bat.
Ceramics.
a sheet of gelatin or glue used in bat printing.
a slab of moist clay.
a ledge or shelf in a kiln.
a slab of plaster for holding a piece being modeled or for absorbing excess water from slip.
batt.
to strike or hit with or as if with a bat or club.
Baseball. to have a batting average of; hit: He batted .325 in spring training.
Sports.
to strike at the ball with the bat.
to take one's turn as a batter.
bat out, to do, write, produce, etc., hurriedly: I have to bat out a term paper before class.
Idioms about bat
at bat, Baseball. See entry at at bat.
bat the breeze. breeze1 (def. 11).
go to bat for, Informal. to intercede for; vouch for; defend: to go to bat for a friend.
right off the bat, Informal. at once; without delay: They asked me to sing right off the bat.
Origin of bat
1Other words for bat
Other definitions for bat (2 of 4)
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
2Other words from bat
- batlike, adjective
Other definitions for bat (3 of 4)
Origin of bat
3Other definitions for bat. (4 of 4)
battalion.
battery.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use bat in a sentence
Many nocturnal animals, including bats, tarsiers and slow lorises, communicate in ultrasound, probably to avoid detection by predators.
On a cool night in Malaysia, scientists track mysterious colugos across the treetops | Yao-Hua Law | November 20, 2020 | Science NewsJackson Cluff, the next player listed by Scialabba, is a similarly versatile shortstop who bats from the left side.
The Nationals’ best position player prospects are a few years away. But they’re out there. | Jesse Dougherty | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostWith De La Rosa, a prospect Scialabba first pointed to in the spring of 2019, the club sees athleticism and a developing left-handed bat.
The Nationals’ best position player prospects are a few years away. But they’re out there. | Jesse Dougherty | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostOne mid-order bat is a must, no excuses, in the post-Rendon era.
The Nationals have been forgotten by baseball. Don’t expect that to last. | Thomas M. Boswell | November 19, 2020 | Washington PostThey came out to their colleagues in late 2019 as genderqueer and said most of them didn’t “bat an eye.”
Trans, non-binary candidates make history in state legislative races | Parker Purifoy | November 18, 2020 | Washington Blade
Nor was an eyelash batted when he bought body armor and tear gas from BulletProofBodyArmorHQ.com and BP Arms, respectively.
Victim’s Parents Sue Merchants of the Aurora Massacre | Cliff Schecter | September 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Congressman barely batted an eye when the stage beneath him began to crumble under the weight of the supporters on it.
The company batted off concerns over rising prices and the detrimental effects on competition and consumer choice.
Comcast Coasts Through First Senate Hearing Into $45.2 Billion Merger With Time-Warner Cable | Lloyd Grove | April 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe batted her blue eyes at the camera; they were like diamond studs over a silver platter lake.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’ | Eileen Cronin | April 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“I never batted a thousand but I got some things done,” he says.
Rep. David Price Remembers When a Less Partisan Congress Actually Worked | Eleanor Clift | January 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe batted them away like insects, but they surrounded him and piled on.
The Happy Unfortunate | Robert SilverbergOne of the body armors noticed her and he moved swiftly to her and batted her phone away with a gloved hand.
Little Brother | Cory DoctorowIn serving, the ball must be batted at least ten feet by the server before being touched by any other player on his side.
Games and Play for School Morale | VariousThe ball was batted and thrown around listlessly, and Nelsons efforts to wake the fellows up bore no fruit.
The New Boys at Oakdale | Morgan ScottNot another ball was batted to center field; not once, in the innings that followed, was Nap on base.
The Boy Scouts of Lakeville High | Leslie W. Quirk
British Dictionary definitions for bat (1 of 3)
/ (bæt) /
any of various types of club with a handle, used to hit the ball in certain sports, such as cricket, baseball, or table tennis
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
cricket short for batsman
any stout stick, esp a wooden one
informal a blow from such a stick
Australian a small board used for tossing the coins in the game of two-up
US and Canadian slang a drinking spree; binge
slang speed; rate; pace: they went at a fair bat
another word for batting (def. 1)
carry one's bat cricket (of an opening batsman) to reach the end of an innings without being dismissed
off one's own bat
of one's own accord; without being prompted by someone else
by one's own unaided efforts
off the bat or right off the bat US and Canadian informal immediately; without hesitation
(tr) to strike with or as if with a bat
(intr) sport (of a player or a team) to take a turn at batting
Origin of bat
1- See also bat around
British Dictionary definitions for bat (2 of 3)
/ (bæt) /
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
Origin of bat
2Derived forms of bat
- batlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for bat (3 of 3)
/ (bæt) /
to wink or flutter (one's eyelids)
not bat an eye or not bat an eyelid informal to show no surprise or concern
Origin of bat
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with 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.
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