Bat is a word with several different meaningsThe ideas or senses a word can have in different contexts.. It can refer to a turn in baseball, a flyingAble to move through the air; not walking or resting on the ground. mammal, a piece of sports equipment, or an action like batting a ball or blinkingClosing and opening the eyes very quickly. quickly.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-12. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Pronunciation
AI-generated pronunciation audio (OpenAI).
Accent: General American English
IPA: /bæt/
Easy pronunciation: BAT (approximate spelling).
Stress: The word is one syllable, so the single syllable is stressed.
Baseball noun: a turn at the plate; not the mammal or the verb.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-12. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Bat Meaning
an official turn at the plate in baseball
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a turn trying to get a hit in baseball
Example: He had four hits in four at-bats.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- at-bat — Exact baseball sense.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-12. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Other Meanings of Bat
Meaning 2
a flying mammal that comes out at night
Part of speech: noun
Definition: nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate
Example: Bats often hunt insects after dark.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- chiropteran — Technical term for a bat as an animal.
Meaning 3
to blink quickly
Part of speech: verb
Definition: wink briefly
Example: She batted her eyelashes at the camera.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- flutter — Can fit this eyelid-blinking sense, but is less direct than bat.
Meaning 4
to defeat badly
Part of speech: verb
Definition: beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight
Example: Our team clobbered the champions 5–0.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- clobber — Strong informal substitute.
- cream — Common informal synonym in this sense.
- drub — Means defeat heavily, often in a formal or literary style.
- lick — Informal; works in some contexts.
- thrash — Common strong synonym for defeating badly.
Meaning 5
a cricket bat
Part of speech: noun
Definition: the club used in playing cricket
Example: He bought a new cricket bat.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- cricket bat — Exact term for this object.
Meaning 6
a racket used for squash
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a small racket with a long handle used for playing squash
Example: She left her squash racket in the locker room.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- squash racket — Exact modern spelling in many places.
- squash racquet — Alternate spelling.
Meaning 7
a sports bat or hitting club
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a club used for hitting a ball in various games
Example: The shop sells bats for several different games.
Meaning 8
to take your turn batting in baseball
Part of speech: verb
Definition: have a turn at bat
Example: Jones bats first, followed by Martinez.
Meaning 9
to hit something with a bat
Part of speech: verb
Definition: strike with, or as if with, a baseball bat
Example: He batted the ball into the outfield.
Meaning 10
to play as the batter in baseball
Part of speech: verb
Definition: use a bat
Example: Who's batting first today?
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-12. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Bat Synonyms
Similar Meaning
- at-bat
the animal
- chiropteran
to blink quickly
- flutter
to defeat badly
- clobber
- cream
- drub
- lick
- thrash
the cricket equipment
- cricket bat
the squash equipment
- squash racket
- squash racquet
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-12. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Common Mistakes
- Do not confuse bat the animal with bat used in sports.
- Do not mix up the baseball verb bat with the noun at-bat.
- Bat can mean a cricket bat or a squash racket, but those are different sports tools.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-12. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main meaning of bat?
The most common everyday sense in this data is the baseball noun meaning a turn trying to get a hit, as in at-bat.
What are bat synonyms?
Bat has different synonyms for different senses, such as at-bat for baseball, chiropteran for the animal, and clobber or thrash for the verb meaning defeat badly.
Is bat a noun or a verb?
Both. It can be a noun, such as a baseball turn or the animal, and a verb, such as to bat a ball or to bat in baseball.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-12. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.