bats
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of bats
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.
First identified in 1976 and believed to have originated in bats, Ebola is a deadly viral disease spread through direct contact with bodily fluids.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
Ebola viruses normally infect animals, typically fruit bats, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Scientists believe African fruit bats may be the source of the viruses that cause Ebola, according to the CDC.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Most Ebola spillover events, which is when a virus like Ebola is transmitted to humans, occur in miners working deep in caves where bats live.
From MarketWatch • May 17, 2026
He also knew they were eating mosquitoes—he’d read about them in biology—and he thought, Get some, bats.
From "The River" by Gary Paulsen
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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.