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
Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
David cautioned to Derek that batting 1.000 on every investment is impossible and preached the importance of investing in people rather than products while also following your passion.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Madeline Heim, Journal Sentinel, 31 Oct. 2024
California bats haven’t been seen with signs of the disease, but wildlife officials expect they’ll be impacted in the near future.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bat 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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about these examples.
Verb
Chisholm started all five games and batted .238 with five hits, one home run, one run batted in and three runs scored.
—Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
David cautioned to Derek that batting 1.000 on every investment is impossible and preached the importance of investing in people rather than products while also following your passion.
—Jeff Fedotin, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
Start by building a bat house, which provides a safe summer roost for bats, Redell suggested.
—Madeline Heim, Journal Sentinel, 31 Oct. 2024
California bats haven’t been seen with signs of the disease, but wildlife officials expect they’ll be impacted in the near future.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bat
Dictionary Entries Near bat
Cite this Entry
“Bat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bat. Accessed 14 Nov. 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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