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

There is a three-way tie for the next level of ineffectiveness – 45 at bats: Bill Bergen in 1909; Dave Campbell in 1973; and the current manager of the Chicago Cubs, Craig Counsell did it in 2011. —Dan Freedman, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025

After a weekend in which he was getting blown away by every fastball thrown his way, the beleaguered Boston Red Sox slugger turned in probably his best at bat of the season his first time up against Baltimore Orioles starter Cade Povich. —Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2025

Fresh off Friday’s four-strikeout night, Rafael Devers struck out a fifth straight time in his first at bat and found himself in another hole his next time up. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 30 Mar. 2025

One of the new features will be a 4-foot by 8-foot mural with a design of a cartoonish bull pitching a ball to a cow at bat. —Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for at bat

• begat
• bobcat
• chitchat
• doormat
• ducat
• eclat
• format
• hazmat
• muskrat
• nonfat
• polecat
• thereat