as in to discuss
to talk about (an issue) usually from various points of view and for the purpose of arriving at a decision or opinion
the issue's been batted around, but nothing's ever been done
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bat (around or back and forth)
Verb
-
Carvalho discussed the event’s main goal, to mark a year since the beginning of recovery from the Altadena and Pacific Palisades fires in January of 2025.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026 -
This story discusses events that might be disturbing to some readers.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Policymakers are interested too, debating whether public policy and taxpayer money should be used to propel off-site construction from niche application to a regular, if not dominant, feature of the industry.—
Ben Christopher,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
While many countries still debate how electric air travel should work, China is already laying the foundation.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
During Wednesday’s hearing, Bessent frequently talked over Waters, trying to correct the California congresswoman’s message about tariffs and inflation.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The bill extends current DHS funding levels for two weeks to allow talks over new accountability requirements for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other enforcement agencies.—
Eric Lau,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
However, some rank-and-file Democrats are still floating the idea of funding everything except ICE and Customs and Border Protection, arguing those agencies are already funded and should be isolated from other key government functions.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Vedam’s supporters believe investigators fixated on him as the lone suspect at the expense of other legitimate leads, arguing that his ethnicity played a role in how authorities homed in on him in the early days of the case and at trial.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
17 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Bat (around or back and forth).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bat%20%28around%20or%20back%20and%20forth%29. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
