| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| bat1 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  b t |
| NOUN: | 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. | | VERB: | Inflected forms: bat·ted, bat·ting, bats
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. off the bat Without hesitation; immediately: They responded right off the bat. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English, perhaps partly of Celtic origin and partly from Old French batte, pounding implement, flail (from batre, to beat; see batter1).
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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