at bat

noun

plural at bats

baseball

: a turn at batting

had three hits in five at bats

Note: For the purposes of calculating a player's batting average and slugging percentage, an official at bat is charged for each turn at batting except when the player walks, hits a sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly, is hit by a pitched ball, or is interfered with by the catcher.

Examples of at bat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Langford had just four at bats as a freshman in Gainesville. —

Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 18 July 2023 At some point the philosophy of celebrations shifted entirely, with the player who was at bat being the ultimate hero, even if the winning run scored on a fielding error. —

David Waldstein, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2023 Sophomore Maddie Engle is at .500 (eight at bats) with four RBIs and a homer. —

Brian Haenchen, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Apr. 2023 Advertisement Dignity, alas, has gone the way of outfield walls without ads and pitchers taking their turn at bat. —

Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2023 Enter Email Sign Up David Ortiz at bat early in the 2014 season. —

BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2023 Case in point: Duran struck out four times in six at bats in two games vs. the Cleveland Guardians. —

Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 18 July 2023 Smith, who took his place in the lineup off the bench, hit a two-run home run in his first at bat in nearly a week. —

Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 13 May 2023 Seager led the third off with a single; Lowe grounded into a double play in the next at bat. —

Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 6 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'at bat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.