# bat

Pronunciation: say "BAT" /bæt/

## Noun

1. A flying, usually nocturnal mammal of the order Chiroptera, typically small and feeding on insects or fruit.
   - Simple: A flying animal, usually small, that is active mostly at night and usually eats insects or fruit.
   - _Researchers tracked a single bat as it hunted moths over the pond._
   - _Fruit bats roost in large colonies high in the tropical canopy._
2. A club of wood or metal used to hit the ball in games such as baseball and cricket, or one used as a weapon.
   - Simple: A stick used to hit the ball in games like baseball and cricket, sometimes used as a weapon.
   - _She gripped the bat tightly and waited for the pitch._
   - _Aluminum bats produce a distinctive ping on contact._
4. The period during which a player takes a turn batting in a game.
   - Simple: A player's turn to hit the ball in a game.
   - _Before the match, she had a long bat in the nets to get her timing right._
   - _After waiting in the pavilion all afternoon, he finally got a bat just before the close of play._
7. A player assessed or ranked on the basis of their ability as a batter.
   - Simple: A player judged by how well they hit the ball.
   - _The captain is a reliable bat in tough conditions._
   - _They lost their finest bat to a hamstring injury._
8. Batting in sheet form: a layer of cotton laid inside quilts or comforters as padding.
   - Simple: A flat layer of cotton used to fill quilts and padded covers.
   - _The quilter smoothed the cotton bat between the two layers of fabric._
   - _A thick bat gives the comforter extra warmth._
9. Short for battery: the battery that powers a phone or other device, or the charge left in it. *(slang)* — Clipping of battery.
   - Simple: Short for battery: the battery in a phone or other device, or how much charge it has left.
   - _This game drains my bat so fast that I can barely finish a match without plugging in._
   - _Don't bother calling him; he said his bat was down to three percent an hour ago._
10. A single sharp blow or stroke.
   - Simple: A quick, hard hit or blow.
   - _With one bat of its huge paw, the bear flipped a salmon out of the stream and onto the rocks._
   - _The cat stared at the pen for a while, then sent it rolling off the desk with a single bat._
11. A derogatory word for an old woman.
   - Simple: A rude word for an old woman.
   - _He grumbled that some old bat had scolded him at the bus stop._
   - _Don't be such an old bat about it, she snapped._
12. The speed at which something moves. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: How fast something is moving.
   - _The car shot past the gate at a fair bat._
   - _The cyclists came down the lane at a fair bat, scattering the chickens in the farmyard._
14. Short for batty: a slang word for the buttocks, used in Caribbean English and Multicultural London English. *(dialectal, Caribbean, Multicultural London English)* — Clipping of batty (“buttocks or anus”).
   - Simple: Short for batty: a slang word for someone's bottom, used in Caribbean and London English.
   - _The comedian slipped and fell flat on his bat to roars of laughter._
   - _Move your bat off the couch and help with the dishes._

## Verb

3. To take a turn at hitting the ball with a bat in sports such as cricket, baseball, and softball, rather than fielding.
   - Simple: To take your turn at hitting the ball in games like baseball or cricket, instead of fielding.
   - _She prefers to bat near the top of the order._
   - _The visitors chose to bat after winning the toss._
5. To strike something with a bat or, figuratively, as if with a bat.
   - Simple: To hit something with a bat, or to hit it as if using one.
   - _Players bat the ball toward open gaps in the field._
   - _Before the game, the coach batted fly balls to the outfielders for twenty minutes._
6. To flutter the eyelids or eyelashes, or to blink or wink.
   - Simple: To move your eyelids or eyelashes up and down quickly, or to wink.
   - _He batted his eyelids to clear away the dust._
   - _She likes to bat her lashes whenever she teases him._
13. To move swiftly and lightly from one spot to another.
   - Simple: To move quickly from one place to another.
   - _Many students bat around Europe for a summer before starting university._
   - _He batted around the office, never settling at one desk._

## Noun

15. Dated form of baht: the basic unit of money of Thailand. *(dated)* — Dated form of baht (“Thai currency”).
   - Simple: Older form of baht: the money used in Thailand.
16. A spree or binge; a bout of merrymaking or heavy drinking. *(dated, US)*
   - Simple: A wild time of partying or heavy drinking, sometimes lasting for days.
   - _The crew blew their wages on a three-day bat in the port town._
   - _Every payday, half the logging crew would go off on a bat and stagger back to camp days later with empty pockets._
18. A packsaddle; a saddle made to carry loads on a beast of burden. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A saddle used to carry loads on an animal's back.
19. A child's shoe constructed without a welt, the band of material that joins the upper to the sole. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: A child's shoe made without a welt, the strip that joins the sole to the top.
20. A poorly made boot, or one worn into shabby condition. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: A badly made boot, or one in bad shape.

## Verb

17. To flutter or beat the wings, as a hawk does when unsettled. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: To flap or flutter the wings, like a hawk on a perch.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A piece of a brick that still retains one whole, unbroken end.
- (noun) Shale, particularly the bituminous kind found among coal seams.
- (noun) The flat piece of wood on which the spinner sets the coins before tossing them, used in the game of two-up.
- (noun) A stroke of work; an amount of effort or labor performed.
- (noun) Manner, rate, or condition; also a person's state of health.
- (noun) A roughly made, unfinished walking stick.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 11** — A dialectal variant of Middle English "bakke" (also "balke"), of North Germanic origin. It is perhaps connected to Old Norse "leðrblaka," literally "(leather) flapper," from "leðr" plus "blaka" ("to flap"), and compares with Old Swedish "natbakka" and Old Danish "nathbakkæ."
**Meanings 2, 4, 7–8, 10, 12, 16** — Old English batt ("bat, club, cudgel") became Middle English bat. The Old English word is probably Celtic in origin (compare Old Breton bath, "club," and modern Breton bazh, "swagger stick"). If so, it may trace back to a derivative of *bʰedʰh₂-, a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to strike, beat, pierce." Latin battuo ("I beat") may have come from a Gaulish source in a similar way.
**Meanings 3, 5, 17** — From Middle English batten ("to beat"), from Old French batre, from Late Latin battere, from Latin battuere, of uncertain origin: perhaps Germanic or Celtic. In modern English it is heard as a verb made from bat, the club; compare batter and battery.
**Meanings 6, 13** — Possibly a variant of bate, the falconer's word for a hawk beating its wings.
**Meaning 18** — Ancient Greek bastázō ("to lift, carry") led to Vulgar Latin *bastāre ("to carry") and its form *bastum, then to Old French bast and French bât, which English borrowed. English bat, baton, and baston are doublets.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bat (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).