Showing results for "bat"

• a variation of batt.

Jump To:

• bat
  bat

  noun
• bat.
  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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

bat ³ British  

/ bæt /

verb

1. to wink or flutter (one's eyelids)

2. informal to show no surprise or concern

---

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

---

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

The “closer” might not pitch the ninth if, say, an opponent’s best three hitters are due to bat in the seventh or eighth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

At this time, no one is believed to have made direct skin contact with the bat, the county said in a news release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

It isn’t his mediocre bat or defensive versatility.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

After being asked to bat first the Steelbacks survived a monumental collapse, losing their final eight wickets for 31 to post 169, opener Ricardo Vasconcelos providing the backbone with 88.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Hennessey, who was working catcher, casually hands him a bat as he steps up to the plate, and I jog to take over for her.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

“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 was impressed with the way he swung the bat. He showed a really good approach.”

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2024

“So all the boys who were here the first year, the first game you’re not winning it right off the bat. You’ve got to keep pushing.”

From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2023

“I can’t hit any other way. It’s got something to do with my eyesight and with the way I hold the bat. I don’t know.”

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Bethell, who has not previously batted higher than four for England in white-ball cricket, started his ODI opening career with innings of 14 and four, but cut a composed figure at the Home of Cricket.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

A furry AI pet batted its eyelashes at cooing onlookers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

DeChambeau eventually emerged and batted off questions as he marched towards the range, where he hit balls in the darkness until almost 22:30 BST.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Luke had Tommy John surgery after two years pitching for Dallas Baptist, then batted .337 with 16 home runs as a designated hitter last spring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Even Noor hadn’t batted an eyelash when he’d told her, earlier in the day, that he’d wasted her money.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

He is batting .240, 30 points below his career average.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

His career batting average to that point was .000—he went 0 for 12 in a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Kent, as always, was consistent at the plate, batting .280, but he also sustained a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery and sidelined him for almost all of September.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

The Knight that came back in the batting ranks for the start of the 2025 summer was rejuvenated, a weight off her shoulders, batting with freedom and without burden.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

“So let’s try one more time, because I am very curious now: If you were at batting practice, how is it you don’t you have a bat?”

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Related Words

• sock