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
plural bats
: any of a widely distributed order (Chiroptera) of nocturnal usually frugivorous or insectivorous flying mammals that have wings formed from four elongated digits of the forelimb covered by a cutaneous membrane and that have adequate visual capabilities but often rely on echolocation
see also bats in the belfry
batted; batting
: to wink especially in surprise or emotion
never batted an eye
bachelor of arts in teaching
Examples of bat in a Sentence
Noun (1)
a sharp bat with a rolled-up newspaper and that fly was a goner
riot policemen armed with bats and tear gas
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
Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2025
Today, bats are its inhabitants, some 40,000 of them taking refuge in the darkness.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 19 Oct. 2025
Despite three false start penalties on the drive the Spartans got as close as the Aggies 37-yard line before a desperation throw from Eget on fourth-and-two was batted down in the end zone as time expired.
—Aaron Johnson, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bat
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Families are turning dinner into an activity by using pizza dough or premade crusts to mold fun, spooky shapes, like ghosts, pumpkins, and bats, before topping them with sauce, cheese, and all their favorite fixings.
—Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2025
Today, bats are its inhabitants, some 40,000 of them taking refuge in the darkness.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
But then came the altercation, in which Philadelphia midfielder Jesus Bueno batted Zaha’s hand down in the middle of the pitch and Zaha responded with an open-handed push to Bueno’s face, and Bueno of course went down to the ground as if he had been punched by Mike Tyson.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 19 Oct. 2025
Despite three false start penalties on the drive the Spartans got as close as the Aggies 37-yard line before a desperation throw from Eget on fourth-and-two was batted down in the end zone as time expired.
—Aaron Johnson, Mercury News, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bat
Cite this Entry
“Bat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bat. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share