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
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- bang
- bash
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- douse [British]
- fillip
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- lick
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slam
- slap
- slug
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thump
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Verb (1)
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
Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2024
His single-minded focus on the war, and on batting aside international criticism of the way it’s being waged, has so far kept most Israelis on board.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2024
Coppola, 85 years old and holding a cane, kept waving a straw hat at photographers and batting off a handler who tried to guide him on where to go.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 16 May 2024
Claire Shelton is batting .500 with 38 RBIs, while Sophia has a .373 average.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 13 May 2024
The left-handed hitter Caissie is batting .277 with a .415 on-base percentage and .852 OPS.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2024
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday easily batted down an attempt by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to oust him from his post, after Democrats linked arms with most Republicans to fend off a second attempt by G.O.P. hard-liners to strip the gavel from their party leader.
—Kayla Guo, New York Times, 8 May 2024
Center fielder Kai Minor, batting third, finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a double to help lead Orange Lutheran’s attack.
—Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 7 May 2024
Ohtani, who was selected National League player of the week earlier Monday, also singled in the fourth inning, stole two bases and is batting .389 (21 for 54) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his last 13 games.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
Julia Daye, Miami Herald, 8 May 2024
The deeper caves are now roped off to the public, and the above-ground visitor center—a building shaped like a bat—is largely dedicated to bat education.
—Corey Buhay, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2024
If an employer matches a retirement plan contribution, that would translate into an automatic 50% return off the bat.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 5 May 2024
Baring-Gould, who had fifteen children and kept a tame bat, wrote more than a thousand literary works, including some thirty novels, a biography of Napoleon, and an influential study of werewolves.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024
For the folks in Washtenaw County, residents can report bat exposure and/or animal bites here.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
The blossom's smell attracts nocturnal pollinators, including bats and moths.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
After striking out against Miller for the second time this week, Soto slammed his bat.
—Mercury News Staff and Wire Reports, The Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2024
Midges are an ample food source for ducks, bats, insect-eating birds and small fish like minnows and baby perch, salmon and trout.
—Journal Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2024
Verb
Even his one area of weakness during the opening month, batting with runners in scoring position, has improved in recent weeks, with Ohtani batting .417 in such situations in May.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2024
His single-minded focus on the war, and on batting aside international criticism of the way it’s being waged, has so far kept most Israelis on board.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 May 2024
Coppola, 85 years old and holding a cane, kept waving a straw hat at photographers and batting off a handler who tried to guide him on where to go.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 16 May 2024
Claire Shelton is batting .500 with 38 RBIs, while Sophia has a .373 average.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 13 May 2024
The left-handed hitter Caissie is batting .277 with a .415 on-base percentage and .852 OPS.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 10 May 2024
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday easily batted down an attempt by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to oust him from his post, after Democrats linked arms with most Republicans to fend off a second attempt by G.O.P. hard-liners to strip the gavel from their party leader.
—Kayla Guo, New York Times, 8 May 2024
Center fielder Kai Minor, batting third, finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a double to help lead Orange Lutheran’s attack.
—Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 7 May 2024
Ohtani, who was selected National League player of the week earlier Monday, also singled in the fourth inning, stole two bases and is batting .389 (21 for 54) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his last 13 games.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2024
Noun
In the end, the scientists were able to recognize bats’ bickering over food and making calls in other circumstances, such babies as being left alone without their mothers, according to the study.
—Julia Daye, Miami Herald, 8 May 2024
The deeper caves are now roped off to the public, and the above-ground visitor center—a building shaped like a bat—is largely dedicated to bat education.
—Corey Buhay, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2024
If an employer matches a retirement plan contribution, that would translate into an automatic 50% return off the bat.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 5 May 2024
Baring-Gould, who had fifteen children and kept a tame bat, wrote more than a thousand literary works, including some thirty novels, a biography of Napoleon, and an influential study of werewolves.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024
For the folks in Washtenaw County, residents can report bat exposure and/or animal bites here.
—Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
The blossom's smell attracts nocturnal pollinators, including bats and moths.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
After striking out against Miller for the second time this week, Soto slammed his bat.
—Mercury News Staff and Wire Reports, The Mercury News, 25 Apr. 2024
Midges are an ample food source for ducks, bats, insect-eating birds and small fish like minnows and baby perch, salmon and trout.
—Journal Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bat
Cite this Entry
“Bat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bat. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
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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