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bat

noun
/bæt/

Etymology

From Middle English bat, batte, from Old English batt (“bat, club, cudgel”), probably of Celtic origin, compare Old Breton bath (“club, cudgel”) and modern Breton bazh (“swagger stick”), ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰh₂- (“to strike, beat, pierce”), similar to the Gaulish source of Latin battuō (“to beat, pound”).

  1. derived from battuo
  2. derived from batto
  3. derived from batre
  4. inherited from baten

Definitions

  1. Any flying mammal of the order Chiroptera, usually small and nocturnal, insectivorous or…

    Any flying mammal of the order Chiroptera, usually small and nocturnal, insectivorous or frugivorous.

    • The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day.

  2. An old woman.

    • "Isn't it lovely?" I smiled and thought: "Yes it is. It's also a Blackbird, you silly old bat!

  3. A club, made of wood like a baseball bat or otherwise, used as a weapon

  4. ›+ 30 more definitions

    1. A club made of wood or aluminium used for striking the ball in sports such as baseball,…

      A club made of wood or aluminium used for striking the ball in sports such as baseball, softball and cricket.

    2. A turn at hitting the ball with a bat in a game.

      • You've been in for ages. Can I have a bat now?

    3. A player rated according to skill in batting.

      • He's a good fielder and a valuable bat.

    4. The piece of wood on which the spinner places the coins and then uses for throwing them.

    5. Shale or bituminous shale.

      • bituminous shale ; which miners , if I mistake not , call bat

    6. A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables

      A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.

    7. A part of a brick with one whole end.

    8. A stroke

      A stroke; a sharp blow.

    9. A stroke of work.

    10. Rate of motion

      Rate of motion; speed.

      • On starting, The Nun led at a very slow pace for a quarter of a mile, when the Shrigley colt made running at a good bat.
      • a vast host of fowl […] making at full bat for the North Sea.

    11. A spree

      A spree; a jollification; a binge, jag.

    12. Manner

      Manner; rate; condition; state of health.

    13. A rough walking stick.

      • So ſlides he dovvne vppon his greyned bat; / And comely diſtant ſits he by her ſide, […]

    14. To hit with a bat or (figuratively) as if with a bat.

      • He batted the ball away with a satisfying thwack.
      • We batted a few ideas around.

    15. To take a turn at hitting a ball with a bat in sports like cricket, baseball and…

      To take a turn at hitting a ball with a bat in sports like cricket, baseball and softball, as opposed to fielding.

    16. To strike or swipe as though with a bat.

      • The cat batted at the toy.

    17. To bate or flutter, as a hawk.

    18. To flutter

      • to bat one’s eyelashes

    19. To wink.

    20. To flit quickly from place to place.

      • I’ve spent all week batting around the country.
      • The "Star" is batting along at about a mile a minute, chattering away at the chimney and snatching small coal off the shovel.

    21. A packsaddle.

    22. Dated form of baht (“Thai currency”).

    23. Clipping of batty (“buttocks or anus”).

    24. A child's shoe without a welt.

      • The retailer who sells a little girl a pretty pair of shoes today instead of a pair of bats, is bound to sell that girl, when she grows up, a pair of stylish $3 or $4 shoes instead of her buying a pair of $1.98 bargain bats elsewhere.

    25. A boot that is badly made or in poor condition.

    26. Clipping of battery.

      • All these things must sell... […] * Motorola Cell phone bat/case/no contract
      • [T]he razor was allways^([sic]) planed^([sic]) to be a thinner PalmIII with Li-Ion bat and a better LCD (i.e. less glare and more contrast)... […] You can replace it in the same way than^([sic]) the Cell Phone bat's...very easy !!!
      • where is cheapest place to buy laptop batt?

    27. Abbreviation of Bathurst.

    28. Initialism of best available technology

      Initialism of best available technology: a principle applying to regulations on limiting pollutant discharges.

    29. Initialism of brown adipose tissue.

    30. One or more of the Chinese technology companies Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent.

The neighborhood

Derived

at bat, baseball bat, bat and ball, batboy, batgirl, batlet, batmaker, bat of an eye, bat-pad, batsman, bat speed, batswoman, beat the bat, big bat, bingle, brickbat, carry out one's bat, carry the bat, cluebat, come to bat, corked bat, cricket bat, cross bat, dead bat, dizzy bat, fungo bat, go to bat, half-bat, nail bat, off one's own bat, on one's own bat, pandy bat, right off the bat, straight bat, superbat, take one's bat and ball and go home, up to bat, batman, bat around, bat a thousand · +19 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at bat. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01bat02weapon03guns04biceps05arm06limb07wing

A definitional loop anchored at bat. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at bat

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA