as in canes
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment
the detainee claimed that the police had beat him with their batons even after he had been shackled
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Recent Examples of batons
Right, Rodney King was batons, Eric Garner with a chokehold.
—
Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
Edris steals a glance at a dozen or two golden batons rising at eye level.
—Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
Police used batons, tear gas, and live fire to disperse the crowd.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
Police responded with batons, tear gas and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured.
—Arkansas Online, 3 Mar. 2026
Police responded with batons, tear gas and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured.
—Munir Ahmed, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, and at least nine people were killed in the clashes, authorities said.
—Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
Fresh, slender bunch carrots cut into batons are the best choice, though larger carrots may be used.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
According to those reports, during her arrest in December, she was beaten repeatedly with wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, sustaining injuries that left open wounds on her head.
—Jomana Karadsheh, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
Edris steals a glance at a dozen or two golden batons rising at eye level.
—Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
Police used batons, tear gas, and live fire to disperse the crowd.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
Police responded with batons, tear gas and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured.
—Arkansas Online, 3 Mar. 2026
Police responded with batons, tear gas and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured.
—Munir Ahmed, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2026
Police and paramilitary forces used batons and fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, and at least nine people were killed in the clashes, authorities said.
—Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
Fresh, slender bunch carrots cut into batons are the best choice, though larger carrots may be used.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
According to those reports, during her arrest in December, she was beaten repeatedly with wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, sustaining injuries that left open wounds on her head.
—Jomana Karadsheh, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for batons
canes
Noun
-
Repeating this cycle helps replace older canes with new, stronger growth.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Since the goal is to remove most of the old stems, prune back thick remaining stems to new canes that develop lower on the stem over the next couple of years.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Batons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/batons. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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