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bat¹

(băt)

1. A stout wooden stick; a cudgel.

2. A blow, such as one delivered with a stick.

3. Baseball A rounded, often wooden club, wider and heavier at the hitting end and tapering at the handle, used to strike the ball.

4. 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.

v. bat·ted, bat·ting, bats

v.tr.

1. To hit with or as if with a bat.

2. 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.

3. Informal To discuss or consider at length: bat an idea around.

v.intr.

1. Baseball

a. To use a bat.

b. To have a turn at bat.

2. 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.

Idioms:

at bat Sports

Taking one's turn to bat, as in baseball or cricket.

go to bat for

To give assistance to; defend.

right off the bat

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).]

bat²

(băt)

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.

Idiom:

have bats in (one's) belfry

To behave in an eccentric, bizarre manner.

[Alteration of Middle English bakke, of Scandinavian origin.]

bat³

(băt)

tr.v. bat·ted, bat·ting, bats

To wink or flutter: bat one's eyelashes.

Idiom:

not bat an eye/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.]

BAT

abbr.

Bachelor of Arts in Teaching

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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