Showing results for "bat"

• a variation of batt.

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  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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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bat ³ British  

/ bæt /

verb

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

2. informal to show no surprise or concern

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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

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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

In a game against the Athletics on Sept. 15, he launched a rocket into right field that came off his bat at 98 mph.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The Dodgers will need a left-handed bat off the bench in October, but Rushing now has competition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

Sri Lanka, much improved in the field but far too timid with the bat, were bowled out for 176.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

He has the exact profile of somebody who would bat at the top of the lineup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The kid holding the bat was captain of the soccer team, the type of kid who should have cared that Toby couldn’t bat.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

“I have followed what Pete’s doing, and he’s figured some things out with the bat. “He’s having a heck of a year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

"People have different jobs and they go to work when they are sick or unwell. There was no decision not to bat. It was always 'no matter how bad I am, I’m going to go'."

From BBC ● May 8, 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

“It’s not a bat. It’s a black butterfly,” Mundín observes, leaping up to catch it.

From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez

Dean Chemerinsky said that when the justices pooh-poohed and batted aside aesthetic injury claims, that really raised questions for standing in a massive amount of environmental lawsuits.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

He was stuck in double A, where he batted .227 and struck out 110 times in fewer than 400 at-bats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

He batted against Hall-of-Famers, frequently slammed face-first into outfield fences and experienced the pressure cooker of the postseason.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Emilio Gay: Only batted once given Pakistan's poor performance and played nice shots in a breezy 33.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Balloons were bumping and plummeting against the ceiling as children batted them high.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

The team considered replacing Snell’s start Saturday with a live batting practice session, Roberts said, which would have still given Snell feedback from hitters, but in a more controlled environment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

Peter Gammons sat in the visiting dugout when a 17-year-old Cal Ripken Jr. started ‘driving bombs’ over the wall during batting practice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Holding court, he had Joe Root and Rehan Ahmed alike involved in a batting drill on how to rotate the strike against spin.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

And Ohtani slid into the Dodgers lineup, hitting second in the batting order for the first time this season, with Mookie Betts leading off against the Padres southpaw.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

"Are you as good at batting as you are at fielding?"

From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman

Related Words

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