BAT (batted, batting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: batted    , batting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bat mean? 

• BAT (noun)
  The noun BAT has 5 senses:

1. nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate

2. (baseball) a turn trying to get a hit

3. a small racket with a long handle used for playing squash

4. the club used in playing cricket

5. a club used for hitting a ball in various games

  Familiarity information: BAT used as a noun is common.

• BAT (verb)
  The verb BAT has 5 senses:

1. strike with, or as if with a baseball bat

2. wink briefly

3. have a turn at bat

4. use a bat

5. beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight

  Familiarity information: BAT used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BAT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

bat; chiropteran

Hypernyms ("bat" is a kind of...):

eutherian; eutherian mammal; placental; placental mammal (mammals having a placenta; all mammals except monotremes and marsupials)

Meronyms (parts of "bat"):

wing (a movable organ for flying (one of a pair))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bat"):

fruit bat; megabat (large Old World bat of warm and tropical regions that feeds on fruit)

carnivorous bat; microbat (typically having large ears and feeding primarily on insects; worldwide in distribution)

Holonyms ("bat" is a member of...):

Chiroptera; order Chiroptera (an old order dating to early Eocene: bats: suborder Megachiroptera (fruit bats); suborder Microchiroptera (insectivorous bats))

Sense 2

Meaning:

(baseball) a turn trying to get a hit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

at-bat; bat

Context example:

he got four hits in four at-bats

Hypernyms ("bat" is a kind of...):

play; turn ((game) the activity of doing something in an agreed succession)

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A small racket with a long handle used for playing squash

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bat; squash racket; squash racquet

Hypernyms ("bat" is a kind of...):

racket; racquet (a sports implement (usually consisting of a handle and an oval frame with a tightly interlaced network of strings) used to strike a ball (or shuttlecock) in various games)

Derivation:

bat (strike with, or as if with a baseball bat)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The club used in playing cricket

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

bat; cricket bat

Context example:

a cricket bat has a narrow handle and a broad flat end for hitting

Hypernyms ("bat" is a kind of...):

cricket equipment (sports equipment used in playing cricket)

Meronyms (parts of "bat"):

grip; handgrip; handle; hold (the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A club used for hitting a ball in various games

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bat" is a kind of...):

club (stout stick that is larger at one end)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bat"):

baseball bat; lumber (an implement used in baseball by the batter)

paddle (small wooden bat with a flat surface; used for hitting balls in various games)

Derivation:

bat (strike with, or as if with a baseball bat)

• BAT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they bat    ... he / she / it bats   
Past simple: batted   
Past participle: batted   
-ing form: batting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Strike with, or as if with a baseball bat

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

bat the ball

Hypernyms (to "bat" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Verb group:

bat (use a bat)

bat (have a turn at bat)

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "bat"):

switch-hit (bat right-handed against a left-handed and left-handed against a right-handed pitcher)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bat (a club used for hitting a ball in various games)

bat (a small racket with a long handle used for playing squash)

batter ((baseball) a ballplayer who is batting)

batting ((baseball) the batter's attempt to get on base)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Wink briefly

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

bat; flutter

Context example:

bat one's eyelids

Hypernyms (to "bat" is one way to...):

blink; nictate; nictitate; wink (briefly shut the eyes)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Have a turn at bat

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Jones bats first, followed by Martinez

Hypernyms (to "bat" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Verb group:

bat (strike with, or as if with a baseball bat)

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 4

Meaning:

Use a bat

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Who's batting?

Hypernyms (to "bat" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Verb group:

bat (strike with, or as if with a baseball bat)

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 5

Meaning:

Beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bat; clobber; cream; drub; lick; thrash

Context example:

We licked the other team on Sunday!

Hypernyms (to "bat" is one way to...):

beat; beat out; crush; shell; trounce; vanquish (come out better in a competition, race, or conflict)

Verb group:

flail; lam; thrash; thresh (give a thrashing to; beat hard)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The fighter managed to bat his opponent

 Context examples 

An exquisite, fascinating fossil find in northern China has provided new evidence that some Jurassic dinosaurs developed membranous wings like those seen in modern day bats.

(Second Bat-Like Dinosaur Discovered in China, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Emerging fungal pathogens pose a greater threat to biodiversity than any other parasitic group, scientists say, causing population declines of amphibians, bats, corals, bees and snakes.

(Amphibians can acquire resistance to deadly fungus, NSF)

The migration and reproduction of birds, fish, amphibians, insects and bats can be disrupted, and plants can have abnormally extended growing periods.

(Study: Earth’s Night Skies Getting Brighter, VOA)

Researchers from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville say the Cuban boa, the largest native terrestrial predator on the island they are named after, coordinate their hunts in the island’s bat caves.

(Snakes Hunt in Groups, Study Suggests, VOA)

WNS spreads as bats hibernate in winter.

(Hibernation season over, will disease-ridden bats emerge from caves and mines this spring?, NSF)

"And I have been as blind as a bat!" he cried, a ring of vexation in his voice.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I dreamt another dream, sir: that Thornfield Hall was a dreary ruin, the retreat of bats and owls.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

You’re batting a thousand this year, and others are wondering how you do it.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Hendra viruses are found naturally in Pteropid fruit bats, and are zoonotic pathogens in domestic animals (mainly in horses) and humans.

(Hendra Virus, NCI Thesaurus)

The French Bulldog is a sturdy bulldog with large, erect, rounded, bat ears, a flat muzzle and a pug nose.

(French Bulldog, NCI Thesaurus)