bat

[ bat ]

/ bæt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bat ON THESAURUS.COM

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), bat·ted, bat·ting.

to strike or hit with or as if with a bat or club.

Baseball. to have a batting average of; hit: He batted .325 in spring training.

verb (used without object), bat·ted, bat·ting.

Sports.

to strike at the ball with the bat.
to take one's turn as a batter.

Slang. to rush.

Verb Phrases

bat around,

Slang. to roam; drift.
Informal. to discuss or ponder; debate: We batted the idea around.
Baseball. to have every player in the lineup take a turn at bat during a single inning.

bat in, Baseball. to cause (a run) to be scored by getting a hit: He batted in two runs with a double to left.

bat out, to do, write, produce, etc., hurriedly: I have to bat out a term paper before class.

Idioms for bat

at bat, Baseball.

taking one's turn to bat in a game: at bat with two men in scoring position.
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.

bat the breeze. breeze¹(def 11).

go to bat for, Informal. to intercede for; vouch for; defend: to go to bat for a friend.

right off the bat, Informal. at once; without delay: They asked me to sing right off the bat.

Origin of bat

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 FOR bat

10 knock, wallop, swat, smack, sock, slug; clout, clobber.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bat ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby bat

bastogne, bastrop, basuto, basutoland, basw, bat, bat an eye, bat around, bat boy, bat chayil, bat girl

Definition for bat (2 of 6)

bat ²

[ bat ]

/ bæt /

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.

Origin of bat

1570–75; apparently < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish natt-batta, variant of Old Swedish natt-bakka night-bat; replacing Middle English bakke (< Scand), Middle English balke for *blake < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish natt-blacka

OTHER WORDS FROM bat

bat·like, adjective

Definition for bat (3 of 6)

bat ³

[ bat ]

/ bæt /

verb (used with object), bat·ted, bat·ting.

to blink; wink; flutter.

Origin of bat

First recorded in 1605–15; variant of bate²

Definition for bat (4 of 6)

batt

or bat

[ bat ]

/ bæt /

noun

a sheet of matted cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers.

Origin of batt

First recorded in 1830–40; special use of bat¹

Definition for bat (5 of 6)

bat.

battalion.

battery.

Definition for bat (6 of 6)

Masterson

[ mas-ter-suh n, mah-ster- ]

/ ˈmæs tər sən, ˈmɑ stər- /

noun

William BarclayBat,1853–1921, U.S. frontier law officer.

Example sentences from the Web for bat

Instead, he gives his very best effort and tries to win the World Series with a single swing of his bat.

After Torture Report, Our Moral Authority As a Nation Is Gone |Nick Gillespie |December 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Right off the bat, papyrologist Brice C. Jones noted that something was awry.

Dismembering History: The Shady Online Trade in Ancient Texts |Candida Moss |November 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It can be really good if somebody is an amazing talent right off the bat or it can highlight your flaws.

Inside ‘The Sex Factor’: Where 16 Men and Women Vie For Porn Immortality |Aurora Snow |November 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
This allows the bats to spread the viruses to other bat populations in distant areas.

Bats’ Link to Ebola Finally Solved |Carrie Arnold |November 12, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Right off the bat, the “Doing Our Bit for the Cure” campaign seemed peculiar.

The Misogynistic Companies Jumping On The Breast Cancer Bandwagon |Emily Shire |October 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Once, a bat flew half in at one of the windows, striking its wings upon the glass, but almost immediately it flew out again.

The Haunting of Low Fennel |Sax Rohmer
The day passed, the night came, and morning found the Bat still sitting there.

The Way of an Indian |Frederic Remington
A grim set of the jaws, as Bat made the announcement, was his only expression of feeling.

The Man in the Twilight |Ridgwell Cullum
And the way he can touch a bat with his mitt and deflect it on the third strike without being detected by the umpire is wonderful.

Rival Pitchers of Oakdale |Morgan Scott
As a matter of fact a bat is one of our best friends because he will spend the whole night catching mosquitoes.

Outdoor Sports and Games |Claude H. Miller

British Dictionary definitions for bat (1 of 4)

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

Australian a small board used for tossing the coins in the game of two-up

US and Canadian slang a drinking spree; binge

slang speed; rate; pace they went at a fair bat

another word for batting (def. 1)

carry one's bat cricket (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 US and Canadian informal immediately; without hesitation

verb bats, batting or batted

(tr) to strike with or as if with a bat

(intr) sport (of a player or a team) to take a turn at batting

Word Origin for bat

Old English batt club, probably of Celtic origin; compare Gaelic bat, Russian bat

British Dictionary definitions for bat (2 of 4)

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) Related adjective: chiropteran

slang an irritating or eccentric woman (esp in the phrase old bat)

blind as a bat having 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

Derived forms of bat

batlike, adjective

Word Origin for bat

C14 bakke, probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse ledhrblaka leather-flapper, Swedish dialect natt-batta night bat

British Dictionary definitions for bat (3 of 4)

bat ³

/ (bæt) /

verb bats, batting or batted (tr)

to wink or flutter (one's eyelids)

not bat an eye or not bat an eyelid informal to show no surprise or concern

Word Origin for bat

C17: probably a variant of bate ²

British Dictionary definitions for bat (4 of 4)

batt

/ (bæt) /

noun

textiles another word for batting (def. 1)

Australian and NZ a slab-shaped piece of insulating material used in building houses

Idioms and Phrases with bat

bat

In addition to the idioms beginning with bat

bat an eye
bat around
bat one thousand
bats in one's belfry, have
bat the breeze

also see:

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.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bat

noun

verb (used with object), bat·ted, bat·ting.