batting

American  

[bat-ing] / ˈbæt ɪŋ /

noun

battings plural

1. the act or manner of using a bat in a game of ball.

2. cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers in batts or sheets, used as filling for quilts or bedcovers.

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batting British  

/ ˈbætɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called: batt.  cotton or woollen wadding used in quilts, mattresses, etc

2. the action of a person or team that hits with a bat, esp in cricket or baseball

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• battings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of batting

First recorded in 1605–15; bat ¹ + -ing ¹

Explanation

Batting is the soft, plush material on the inside of a blanket or quilt. When you make a quilt, you sew the front to the back with a layer of batting in between. Batting is sometimes called wadding in the UK. It's usually made of cotton, and it adds thickness and warmth to a blanket. You might see batting used as imitation snow in a department store window, as well. The word comes from the now-obsolete bat, "felted mass of fur or wool," from the idea of "beaten" or "batted" fabric.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

batting battings

He also had 560 doubles, 1,518 RBIs and 94 stolen bases while posting a career .290 batting average over 17 seasons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 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

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

They have a fair amount of experience in various batting positions, although neither has been consistent to nail down a place.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Mr. Whiskers pranced around my feet in the snow, batting at a clothespin that had tumbled out of the laundry basket.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Ms. Kokoszka described the members as having “unselfishly donated their time, talents, fabrics, battings, backings, bindings and labels for the making of the quilts each of our honored guests will receive tonight.”

From Washington Times ● Oct. 24, 2020

The floors were four inches deep with dirt and cotton battings and scraps of linings.

From White Slaves; or, the Oppression of the Worthy Poor by Banks, Louis Albert

Spoolers, weavers, slubbers, warpers, nearly grown but all hard-faced, listless—and many of them slept on shawls and battings of cotton.

From The Bishop of Cottontown A Story of the Southern Cotton Mills by Moore, John Trotwood