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
batted; batting
: to wink especially in surprise or emotion
never batted an eye
Examples of bat in a Sentence
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
Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026
By the time the game concluded, the bottom of the Angels lineup batted 13 for 15, walking four times.
—Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
Credit the 31-year-old Honduran for continuing to be a supremely valuable addition, playing all over the field, batting up and down the lineup, and delivering one key hit after another.
—Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 6 June 2026
Maybe Eldridge won’t be asked to bat leadoff against the Cubs.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 5 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for bat
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Verb
Then, the Shamrocks got up to bat.
—Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026
By the time the game concluded, the bottom of the Angels lineup batted 13 for 15, walking four times.
—Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
Credit the 31-year-old Honduran for continuing to be a supremely valuable addition, playing all over the field, batting up and down the lineup, and delivering one key hit after another.
—Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 6 June 2026
Maybe Eldridge won’t be asked to bat leadoff against the Cubs.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 5 June 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 9 Jun. 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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