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bat
1[ bat ]
noun
- Sports.
- the wooden club used in certain games, as baseball and cricket, to strike the ball.
- a racket, especially one used in badminton or table tennis.
- a whip used by a jockey.
- the act of using a club or racket in a game.
- the right or turn to use a club or racket.
- a heavy stick, club, or cudgel.
- Informal. a blow, as with a bat.
- any fragment of brick or hardened clay.
- Masonry. a brick cut transversely so as to leave one end whole.
- British Slang. speed; rate of motion or progress, especially the pace of the stroke or step of a race.
- Slang. a spree; binge:
to go on a bat.
- Ceramics.
- a sheet of gelatin or glue used in bat printing.
- a slab of moist clay.
- a ledge or shelf in a kiln.
- a slab of plaster for holding a piece being modeled or for absorbing excess water from slip.
- batt.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
- Sports.
- to strike at the ball with the bat.
- to take one's turn as a batter.
verb phrase
- Baseball. to cause (a run) to be scored by getting a hit:
He batted in two runs with a double to left.
- to do, write, produce, etc., hurriedly:
I have to bat out a term paper before class.
bat
2[ bat ]
noun
- 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.
bat.
4abbreviation for
- battalion.
- battery.
bat
1/ bæt /
noun
- any of various types of club with a handle, used to hit the ball in certain sports, such as cricket, baseball, or table tennis
- 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
- cricket short for batsman
- any stout stick, esp a wooden one
- informal.a blow from such a stick
- a small board used for tossing the coins in the game of two-up
- slang.a drinking spree; binge
- slang.speed; rate; pace
they went at a fair bat
- another word for batting
- carry one's batcricket (of an opening batsman) to reach the end of an innings without being dismissed
- off one's own bat
- of one's own accord; without being prompted by someone else
- by one's own unaided efforts
- off the bat or right off the bat informal.immediately; without hesitation
verb
- tr to strike with or as if with a bat
- intr sport (of a player or a team) to take a turn at batting
bat
2/ bæt /
noun
- 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 ) chiropteran
- slang.an irritating or eccentric woman (esp in the phrase old bat )
- blind as a bathaving extremely poor eyesight
- have bats in the belfry or have bats in one's belfry informal.to be mad or eccentric; have strange ideas
- like a bat out of hell slang.very quickly
bat
3/ bæt /
verb
- to wink or flutter (one's eyelids)
- not bat an eye or not bat an eyelid informal.to show no surprise or concern
Derived Forms
- ˈbatlike, adjective
Other Word Forms
- batlike adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of bat1
Origin of bat2
Word History and Origins
Origin of bat1
Origin of bat2
Origin of bat3
Idioms and Phrases
- at bat, Baseball. at bat.
- 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.
- go to bat for, Informal. to intercede for; vouch for; defend:
to go to bat for a friend.
- have bats in one's belfry, Informal. 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.
- 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.
- right off the bat, Informal. at once; without delay:
They asked me to sing right off the bat.
- bat the breeze. breeze 1( def 11 ).
More idioms and phrases containing bat
- at bat
- blind as a bat
- bats in one's belfry
- go to bat for
- like a bat out of hell
- right off the bat
Example Sentences
Westlake was unable to rally in the bottom of the seventh, ending a streak of six straight home games in which the Warriors won on walk-offs in their final at bat.
For a long time, ministers have batted away questions about this case - such as, do they really believe in the legal points their lawyers are making? - by saying they can't comment on live litigation.
After receiving two specially ordered bats from Harper — one blue and one pink — Turner then received a text telling him which one to hand to his teammate.
And even though the bottom of the batting order was struggling, the Dodgers were still averaging more than 5 ½ runs per game, hardly seeming to notice Freddie Freeman’s early absence.
The pitch was in the strike zone, meaning that Busch would have still struck out if he had kept the bat on his shoulder.
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- sausage and French fries
- sardines and French fries
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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