1
: a stout solid stick : club
2
: a sharp blow : stroke
3
a
: a usually wooden implement used for hitting the ball in various games
b
: a paddle used in various games (such as table tennis)
c
: the short whip used by a jockey
4
5
: batt
6
British
: rate of speed : gait
7
: a drinking spree : binge
see also:
batted; batting
1
: to strike or hit with or as if with a bat
2
a
: to advance (a base runner) by batting
b
: to have a batting average of
3
: to discuss at length : consider in detail
1
a
: to strike or hit a ball with a bat
b
: to take one's turn at bat
2
: to wander aimlessly
plural bats
: any of a widely distributed order (Chiroptera) of nocturnal usually frugivorous or insectivorous flying mammals that have wings formed from four elongated digits of the forelimb covered by a cutaneous membrane and that have adequate visual capabilities but often rely on echolocation
see also:
batted; batting
: to wink especially in surprise or emotion
never batted an eye
bachelor of arts in teaching
Examples of bat in a Sentence
Noun (1)
a sharp bat with a rolled-up newspaper and that fly was a goner
riot policemen armed with bats and tear gas
Verb (1)
batted the lamp off the table with one strike
batted the piñata until it finally broke open
on Sunday afternoons we'd pile into Father's car and bat around the countryside
Recent Examples on the Web
Charlotte Graham-McLay, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Birds are an interesting question because yes, when especially wind turbines can kill birds, and the number is between 140,000 to maybe as many as 700,000 a year can be harmed by wind turbines, and birds and bats both actually.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 23 Feb. 2026
Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 24 Feb. 2026
Sullivan went to bat for Guerin.
—Stephen Conroy, Hartford Courant, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bat
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show current usage.
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Noun
The only native land mammals are two types of bat, so New Zealand’s birds, which evolved eccentrically before human and predator arrival, have become beloved national symbols.
—Charlotte Graham-McLay, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Birds are an interesting question because yes, when especially wind turbines can kill birds, and the number is between 140,000 to maybe as many as 700,000 a year can be harmed by wind turbines, and birds and bats both actually.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 23 Feb. 2026
Verb
The Angels last season had only two players come to bat at least 200 times last season with a strikeout rate better than the major-league average of 22%.
—Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 24 Feb. 2026
Sullivan went to bat for Guerin.
—Stephen Conroy, Hartford Courant, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bat
Cite this Entry
“Bat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bat. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bat
2 of 4 verb
batted; batting
1
: to strike or hit with or as if with a bat
2
: to take one's turn at bat in baseball
3
: to have a batting average of
is batting .300
bat
3 of 4 noun
: any of an order of night-flying mammals with the forelimbs modified to form wings
bat
4 of 4 verb
batted; batting
: to wink especially in surprise or emotion
never batted an eye
Etymology
Noun
Old English batt "club"
Noun
from Middle English bakke "flying bat"; probably of Scandinavian origin
Verb
probably an altered form of earlier bate "to beat the wings in an impatient manner"
Medical Definition
bat
noun
: any of an order (Chiroptera) of nocturnal placental flying mammals with forelimbs modified to form wings
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