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Synonyms

like a bat out of hell

Idioms  

  1. Moving extremely fast, as in She ran down the street like a bat out of hell. This expression presumably alludes to the rapid darting movement of bats and, Charles Earle Funk theorized, their avoidance of such light as might be cast by the fires of hell. [c. 1900] For a synonym, see like greased lightning.

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.

They undoubtedly gave him even greater publicity and notoriety, helping his solo career to skyrocket like a bat out of hell.

From BBC • Jul. 22, 2025

My wife shot out of the corner like a bat out of hell and leapt from her truck.

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2022

"I don't think I took off like a bat out of hell, I just drove off," Thompson replies.

From Fox News • Jul. 14, 2021

“And I’m still driving like a bat out of hell to get this guy to the hospital to save his life.”

From Slate • Nov. 14, 2018

Cluny went like a bat out of hell.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

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.

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