Showing results for "bat"

• a variation of batt.

Jump To:

• bat
  bat
• 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

One species potentially at risk was the Bulmer's fruit bat, the centre wrote.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

“I want a mayor that’s going to protect me,” said Mohiuddin, who speaks out against Islamophobia and antisemitism, “and I really feel like Nithya would go to bat for us.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

The oil market didn’t bat an eye after reports Thursday of tankers hit by mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

Chirping, chewing and, with bat in hand, often appearing to idolise and mimic his team-mate Steve Smith.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

“Joe Hardy is stepping up to the plate, lucky bat in hand. His brother, Frank, is on third base, itching for home.”

From "The Missing Mitt (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #2)" by Franklin W. Dixon

“Every at-bat’s important. He’s still swinging a hot bat. It absolutely carries over.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026

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

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2024

"It was either going to be McCrispy or McSpicy. But I'm definitely keeping that bat. I'll get the handle fixed on it and she'll be good to go again."

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2023

“I just feel like he’s going to homer every time he swings the bat. I get it. My job is just to try and make it look like the wrong decision.”

From Washington Times ● Aug. 30, 2023

“And you with your bat. If we were going to eat your bat for Thanksgiving, instead of turkey, you’d do something about it.”

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

He finished his career with a .254 batting average, 105 home runs and 826 runs batted in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

He batted .302 last season in 16 games while not at full strength after surgery, so beware come February.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2026

He batted .268 during the postseason and drove in five runs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The reality was that I wore them on public transport and on foot in several cities including London, Glasgow and Portsmouth, and nobody batted an eyelid.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

A blast of violet light shot through the end of the stick, but the Sleeper, now fully emerged from the wall, merely batted the beam of light aside.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Ray played 13 seasons for six teams, batting .275 with 151 home runs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026

“What I seek is the highest possible batting average.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026

Or at least convince him that lecturing Pope Leo XIV on Catholicism is like me giving batting tips to Shohei Ohtani.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

He scrambled together a videotape, renting out a dungeon batting cage in Manhattan for a throwing session.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Miss Marva Hendrix tugged at Pa’s shirt, looked up at him while batting her heavy eyelashes, and said, “No time like the present, Lou.”

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• sock

---