- A stout wooden stick; a cudgel.
- A blow, such as one delivered with a stick.
- Baseball. A rounded, often wooden club, wider and heavier at the hitting end and tapering at the handle, used to strike the ball.
- Sports.
- A club used in cricket, having a broad, flat-surfaced hitting end and a distinct, narrow handle.
- The racket used in various games, such as table tennis or racquets.
v., bat·ted, bat·ting, bats. v.tr.
- To hit with or as if with a bat.
- Baseball.
- To cause (a run) to be scored while at bat: batted the winning run in with a double.
- To have (a certain percentage) as a batting average.
- Informal. To discuss or consider at length: bat an idea around.
- Baseball.
- To use a bat.
- To have a turn at bat.
- Slang. To wander about aimlessly.
bat out
- Informal. To produce in a hurried or informal manner: batted out thank-you notes all morning.
at bat Sports.
- Taking one's turn to bat, as in baseball or cricket.
- To give assistance to; defend.
- Without hesitation; immediately: They responded right off the bat.
[Middle English, perhaps partly of Celtic origin and partly from Old French batte, pounding implement, flail (from batre, to beat; see batter1).]
bat3 (băt)
tr.v., bat·ted, bat·ting, bats.
To wink or flutter: bat one's eyelashes.
idiom:
not bat an eye (or eyelash) Informal.
- To show no emotion; appear unaffected: The reporter didn't bat an eyelash while reading the gruesome news.
[Probably a variant of BATE2.]
bat4 (băt)
n. Slang
A binge; a spree.
[Probably from batter, spree.]
