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bat1

Pronunciation: /bat/

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Definition of bat

noun

an implement with a handle and a solid surface, typically of wood, used for hitting the ball in games such as cricket, baseball, and table tennis: [with modifier]:a cricket bat
a turn at playing with a bat.
a person batting, especially in cricket; a batsman: the team’s opening bat
each of a pair of objects resembling table tennis bats, used by a person on the ground to guide a taxiing aircraft.
a slab on which pottery is formed, dried, or fired.

verb (bats, batting, batted)

[no object]

1(of a sports team or player) take the role of hitting rather than throwing the ball: Australia reached 263 for 4 after choosing to bat
(bat for (or go to bat for)) informal, chiefly North American defend the interests of; support:she turned out to have the law batting for her

2 [with object and adverbial of direction] hit at (someone or something) with the flat of one’s hand:he batted the flies away

Phrases

bat a thousand: be very successful; achieve perfection:with tortellini in brodo, I batted a thousand—both kids had seconds
off one's own bat: British at one’s own instigation; spontaneously: when he didn’t chase the dog she came back off her own bat
right off the bat: North American at the very beginning; straight away: I managed to have a disagreement with him right off the bat

Phrasal Verbs

bat around (or about): informal, chiefly North American travel widely, frequently, or casually:I’m always batting around between England and America
bat something around (or about): informal discuss an idea or proposal casually or idly:we bat around a wide variety of issues

Origin:

late Old English batt 'club, stick, staff', perhaps partly from Old French batte, from battre 'to strike'

bat in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of bat in the US English dictionary

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monocular

/ məˈnɒkjʊlə

/

adjective , noun

with, for, or in one eye …

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