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bat

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The definition of bat is a piece of equipment usually made of wood or metal, frequently used to hit a ball in sports, or a heavy duty stick, or a hard impact.

(noun)

An example of a bat is the long wooden or metal instrument a baseball player uses to hit the ball.
An example of a bat is a large club a person keeps near their bed in case of a break-in.
An example of a bat is a hard whack over the head with a fireplace poker.

A bat is defined as a mammal who flies with the use of wings, is active at night, eats insects and/or fruit, and can see in the dark but mostly finds its way through the use of echolocation.

(noun)

An example of a bat is a small flying black animal used in decorations for Halloween.

To bat means to hit something.

(verb)

An example of bat is to strike a person in the foot with a large, heavy stick.
An example of bat is to hit the ball when playing in a baseball game.

See bat in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

any stout club, stick, or cudgel
a club used to strike the ball in baseball and cricket
a ping-pong paddle, squash racket, etc.
☆ a turn at batting, as in baseball
see also at-bat
Brit. a batsman at cricket
cotton batting, esp. of an inferior quality; batt
the whip used by a jockey
Informal a blow or hit
☆ Slang a drinking bout; spree
Brit., Informal fast pace; speed
Ceramics a plaster disk on which the clay is based in modeling

Origin: ME < OE batt, cudgel (prob. < Welsh bat < IE base *bhat-, to strike) & < OFr batte, pestle < battre, batter

transitive verb batted, batting

to strike with or as with a bat
to have a batting average of

intransitive verb

to use a bat: to bat left-handed
to take a turn at batting: to bat third in the lineup

noun

any of an order (Chiroptera) of furry, nocturnal flying mammals having membranous wings and navigating by echolocation; chiropter: various bats feed on insects, nectar, fruit, flesh, or blood

Origin: altered < ME bakke < Scand, as in OSwed backa

transitive verb batted, batting

Informal to wink; blink; flutter

Origin: ME baten, to flap (wings) < OFr battre, batter

See bat in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

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. A club used in cricket, having a broad, flat-surfaced hitting end and a distinct, narrow handle.
b. The racket used in various games, such as table tennis or racquets.

verb bat·ted, bat·ting, bats

verb, transitive

To hit with or as if with a bat.
Baseball
a. To cause (a run) to be scored while at bat: batted the winning run in with a double.
b. To have (a certain percentage) as a batting average.
Informal To discuss or consider at length: bat an idea around.

verb, intransitive

Baseball
a. To use a bat.
b. To have a turn at bat.
Slang To wander about aimlessly.

Phrasal Verb: bat out Informal To produce in a hurried or informal manner: batted out thank-you notes all morning.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , perhaps partly of Celtic origin

Origin: and partly from Old French batte, pounding implement, flail (from batre, to beat; see batter¹)

noun

Any of various nocturnal flying mammals of the order Chiroptera, having membranous wings that extend from the forelimbs to the hind limbs or tail and anatomical adaptations for echolocation, by which they navigate and hunt prey.

Origin:

Origin: Alteration of Middle English bakke

Origin: , of Scandinavian origin

transitive verb bat·ted, bat·ting, bats

To wink or flutter: bat one's eyelashes.

Origin:

Origin: Probably a variant of bate²

noun
Slang

A binge; a spree.

Origin:

Origin: Probably from batter, spree

abbreviation