baton

noun

ba·​ton bə-ˈtän 

ba-

also

ˈba-tᵊn 

plural batons

1

: cudgel, truncheon

specifically : billy club

2

: a staff borne as a symbol of office

3

: a narrow heraldic bend

4

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

5

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

6

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

7

: 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

Synonyms of baton

• cane

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

There is a certain amount of baton passing that's happening in fashion, and the creative director shuffle that went on. — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 25 Sep. 2026

Her granddaughter Susan Crater, a Georgetown Law School graduate and former lawyer, picked up the baton, brought the archives to the marketplace and started textiles and wall covering firm Sister Parish Designs in 2000. — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026

In July, Manila accused Chinese forces of firing water cannons at government vessels near Scarborough Shoal and striking a Philippine Navy staff member in the head with a wooden baton during an encounter at Second Thomas Shoal. — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026

Gorbachev was in the front with his translator, Pavel Palazchenko, who had taken the baton from Viktor Sukhodrev, a sort of godfather of translation. — Taryn Simon, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French bâton, from Old French baston, ultimately from Late Latin bastum stick

First Known Use

1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing baton

• passed the baton

Rhymes for baton

• anton
• argon
• axon
• baronne
• baryon
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon
• coupon

Kids Definition

baton

noun

ba·​ton bə-ˈtän 

ba-

1

: a staff borne as a symbol of office

2

: a stick with which a leader directs a band or orchestra

3

: a hollow rod passed from one member of a relay team to another

4

: a staff with a ball at one or both ends carried by a drum major or baton twirler