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Synonyms

go to bat for

Idioms  

  1. Take the side of, support, defend. For example, Dad will always go to bat for his kids. This term originated in baseball, where it means simply substituting for another batter, but it is the idea of helping one's team in this way that has been transferred to more general use. [Slang; early 1900s]

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.

And it isn’t merely the pitcher’s willingness to go to bat for his team and country, all the metrics make his case, too.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026

O’Neill, who is set to join the London-based company from Australia’s Woodside Energy WDS -2.65%decrease; red down pointing triangle in April, is a dealmaker who is willing to go to bat for the oil-and-gas business.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

Yes, Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians will almost always go to bat for one their own—one of the big upsides for Harris if she chose Shapiro.

From Slate • Aug. 6, 2024

“He would go to bat for you and help you with anything.”

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2022

“But if you want someone to go to bat for you, she’s the one.”

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

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.