n.

1. Music. A slender wooden stick or rod used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or band.
2. A hollow metal rod with a heavy rubber tip or tips that is wielded and twirled by a drum major or drum majorette.
3. A short staff carried by certain public officials as a symbol of office.
4. Sports. The hollow cylinder that is carried by each member of a relay team in a running race and passed to the next team member.
5. A short stick carried by police; a billy club.
6. Heraldry. A shortened narrow bend, often signifying bastardy.

[French bâton, from Old French baston, stick, from Vulgar Latin *bastō, *bastōn-.]

[ba-TAWN; ba-tawn-NAY] 1. Culinarily, this French word describes a white loaf of bread that's somewhat smaller than a baguette. 2. The term can also refer to various small, stick (baton) shaped foods-such as vegetables or pastries-that may or may not have a filling.

A batten.

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A stick used by some conductors of choruses or orchestras. The baton is traditionally used to indicate the tempo of the music.

See Field Marshall and Drum Major.

IN BRIEF: A staff carried by a drum major or twirler.

Marriage is like twirling a baton, turning hand springs or eating with chopsticks. It looks easy until you try it. — Helen Rowland (1876-1950); Anglo-American writer

Tutor's tip: A "baton" is a short stick passed from one contestant to another in a race, while a "batten" is a wooden strip used to cover a joint between boards.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - dirigentstok, taktstok

Nederlands (Dutch)
(gummi)knuppel, dirigeerstok, estafettestokje, paal

Français (French)
n. - (Mil, Mus) bâton, baguette, (GB) matraque, témoin (dans une course de relais)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Stab, Gummiknüppel, Staffelstab, Taktstock

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - μπαγκέτα, σκυτάλη (σκυταλοδρομίας), ράβδος (αξιώματος), μπαστούνι, κλομπ

idioms:

• pass the baton    δίνω τη σκυτάλη

Italiano (Italian)
manganello, sfollagente, testimone

idioms:

• pass/hand/pick up the baton    passare/prendere il testimone

Português (Portuguese)
n. - cacetete (f), batuta (Mús.)

idioms:

• pass/hand/pick up the baton    passar/pegar/pegar o bastão, assumir a responsabilidade (fig.)

Русский (Russian)
дирижерская палочка, жезл, шест

idioms:

• pass/hand/pick up the baton    передавать палочку на эстафетном беге

Español (Spanish)
n. - porra, cachiporra, garrote, testigo, posta

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - batong, taktpinne, stav, stafettpinne

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
官杖, 权杖, 军乐队用指挥杖, 警棒, 指挥棒

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 官杖, 權杖, 軍樂隊用指揮杖, 警棒, 指揮棒

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 지팡이, 경찰봉[지휘봉], 지휘봉

idioms:

• baton Rouge    바턴 루즈 (루이지아나 주의 주도)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 指揮棒, 警棒, 杖, バトン

idioms:

• pass/hand/pick up the baton    バトンを渡す

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عصا القيادة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שרביט של מנצח תזמורת, שרביט, אלה, מקל במירוץ-שליחים‬

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baton	music baton
le baton	military baton