baton

noun

ba·ton bə-ˈtän

ba-,

also ˈba-tᵊn

plural batons

Synonyms of baton next

: cudgel, truncheon

specifically : billy club

: a staff borne as a symbol of office

: a narrow heraldic bend

: a slender rod with which a leader directs a band or orchestra

: a hollow cylinder carried by each member of a relay team and passed to the succeeding runner

: a hollow metal rod with a weighted bulb at one or both ends that is flourished by a drum major or drum majorette

: a piece of food that has been cut into a narrow strip that is thicker than a julienned piece of food

We cut carrots into slabs, then batons, then dice.—

Janet Rausa Fuller

Examples of baton in a Sentence

The majorette twirled the baton. the detainee claimed that the police had beat him with their batons even after he had been shackled

Recent Examples on the Web Now and again a policeman appeared, lazily trotting behind the body with a baton in one hand. —

Hazlitt, 16 Nov. 2023 When the bank manager runs out, aiming his gun at the getaway car, Clouseau beats him over the head with his baton. —

Madeleine Kearns, National Review, 5 Nov. 2023 The rioter who grabbed Hodges’s mask and then beat the officer with his own baton, 53-year-old Steven Cappuccio, was sentenced Friday by McFadden to 85 months in prison. —

Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023 Ditch the whip and pick up the baton; lead by example, not by fear. —

Chris Kille, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Justin Herbert took the baton from Rivers and has been available for all 58 starts, sitting out the 2020 opener only because coach Anthony Lynn went with stop-gap veteran Tyrod Taylor. —

Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct. 2023 Tennessee Motorcyclist Found Alive in Ditch Nearly 3 Days After Family Reported Him Missing After the deputies failed to open the car’s doors, Ortiz used his baton to smash one of the windows. —

Abigail Adams, Peoplemag, 23 Oct. 2023 Aldridge repeatedly whacks Cure in the thigh with a baton. —

Alexandra E. Petri, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023 In addition, the asymmetry of the case is echoed in the mix of 18-karat white gold baton indexes and dot hour markers, asymmetrically positioned. —

Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2023 See More

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