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noun
1.
Sports.
a.
the wooden club used in certain games, as baseball and cricket, to strike the ball.
b.
a racket, especially one used in badminton or table tennis.
c.
a whip used by a jockey.
d.
the act of using a club or racket in a game.
e.
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.
EXPANDMasonry. 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.
a.
a sheet of gelatin or glue used in bat printing.
b.
a slab of moist clay.
c.
a ledge or shelf in a kiln.
d.
a slab of plaster for holding a piece being modeled or for absorbing excess water from slip.
9.
COLLAPSEverb (used with object)
10.
to strike or hit with or as if with a bat or club.
11.
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Right off the bat
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
verb (used without object)
Verb phrases12.
13.
Slang. to rush.
14.
bat around,
a.
Slang. to roam; drift.
b.
Informal. to discuss or ponder; debate: We batted the idea around.
c.
Baseball. to have every player in the lineup take a turn at bat during a single inning.
15.
bat in, Baseball. to cause (a run) to be scored by getting a hit: He batted in two runs with a double to left.
16.
Idiomsbat out, to do, write, produce, etc., hurriedly: I have to bat out a term paper before class.
17.
at bat, Baseball.
a.
taking one's turn to bat in a game: at bat with two men in scoring position.
b.
an instance at bat officially charged to a batter except when the batter is hit by a pitch, receives a base on balls, is interfered with by the catcher, or makes a sacrifice hit or sacrifice fly: two hits in three at bats.
18.
bat the breeze. breeze1 (def. 11).
19.
go to bat for, Informal. to intercede for; vouch for; defend: to go to bat for a friend.
20.
right off the bat, Informal. at once; without delay: They asked me to sing right off the bat.
Origin:
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English bat, bot, batte, Old English batt, perhaps < Celtic; compare Irish, Scots Gaelic bat, bata staff, cudgel; (v.) Middle English batten, partly from the noun, partly < Old French batre; see batter1
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English bat, bot, batte, Old English batt, perhaps < Celtic; compare Irish, Scots Gaelic bat, bata staff, cudgel; (v.) Middle English batten, partly from the noun, partly < Old French batre; see batter1
Synonyms
10. knock, wallop, swat, smack, sock, slug; clout, clobber.
10. knock, wallop, swat, smack, sock, slug; clout, clobber.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To right off the bat
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bat
"to move the eyelids," 1847, Amer.Eng., from earlier sense of "flutter as a hawk" (1610s), a variant of bate (2) on the notion of fluttering wings.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
bat definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
right off the bat
Instantly, immediately, as in I can't tell you how many right off the bat, but I can find out. This term alludes to a baseball being hit by a bat. [First half of 1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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