batting average
Americannoun
-
Baseball. a measure of the batting ability of a player, obtained by dividing the number of base hits by the number of official times at bat and carrying out the result to three decimal places. A player with 100 base hits in 300 times at bat has a batting average of 0.333.
-
Informal. a degree of achievement or accomplishment in any activity.
Etymology
Origin of batting average
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
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.
Batters across MLB put up a dismal .210 batting average against splitters last season, compared with .224 against sliders and sweepers and .225 against curveballs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Over four games during this year’s tournament, Ohtani led Japan with a .462 batting average, three home runs and seven RBI in 13 at-bats.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
In the 2023 WBC, Ohtani won tournament most valuable player with a .435 batting average and 1.86 ERA, helping Japan to the title.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2026
In the 2023 WBC, Ohtani won tournament MVP with a .435 batting average and 1.86 pitching ERA, helping Japan to the title.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
“What was Mickey Mantle’s best batting average for any year of his career?”
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
