1
: a stout solid stick : club
2
: a sharp blow : stroke
3
a
: a usually wooden implement used for hitting the ball in various games
b
: a paddle used in various games (such as table tennis)
c
: the short whip used by a jockey
4
5
: batt
6
British
: rate of speed : gait
7
: a drinking spree : binge
see also off one's own bat, off the bat
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
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
Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
After coming up hitless in his first two at-bats, the freshman laced a double down the left field line for Texas State's first run since Chase Mora's two-run home run in the second inning.
—Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 14 Feb. 2026
Samanth Subramanian, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Feb. 2026
Finally, Cisco Systems is up to bat after the bell.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bat
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Noun
Sawyer Strosnider starts the season with a bang Strosnider was selected as the Big 12’s preseason player of the year, and the sophomore center fielder from Brock showed why with a homer in his first at-bat of the season.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
After coming up hitless in his first two at-bats, the freshman laced a double down the left field line for Texas State's first run since Chase Mora's two-run home run in the second inning.
—Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 14 Feb. 2026
Verb
Go to feel the ground shake and the sky roar when Mahendra Singh Dhoni walks out to bat.
—Samanth Subramanian, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Feb. 2026
Finally, Cisco Systems is up to bat after the bell.
—Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bat
Cite this Entry
“Bat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bat. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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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