1 a piece of wood with a handle, made in various shapes and sizes, and used for hitting the ball in games such as baseball, cricket and table tennis:
a baseball / cricket bat
compareRACKET
2 an animal like a mouse with wings, that flies and feeds at night (= it is NOCTURNAL). There are many types of bat.
seealsoFRUITBAT, OLDBAT, VAMPIREBAT
IDIOMS
like a bat out of hell (informal) very fast:
She was driving like a bat out of hell.
off your own bat (BrE, informal) if you do sth off your own bat, it is your own idea and you do it without help or encouragement from anyone else:
She made the suggestions entirely off her own bat.
(right) off the bat (informal, especially AmE) immediately; without delay:
Foreign aid is one of the issues we have to deal with right off the bat.
moreatBLINDadj.
verb (-tt-) to hit a ball with a bat, especially in a game of cricket or baseball: [V] He bats very well. * Who's batting first for the Orioles? [also VN]
IDIOMS
bat your eyes / eyelashes to open and close your eyes quickly, in a way that is supposed to be attractive
bat a thousand (AmE, informal) to be very successful:
He's made another sale? He's really batting a thousand!
go to bat for sb (AmE, informal) to give sb help and support:
Although he broke the law, I went to bat for him because I believe in him.
not bat an eyelid (BrE) (AmE not bat an eye) (informal) to show no surprise or embarrassment when sth unusual happens:
She didn't bat an eyelid when I told her my news.
PHRASALVERBS
bat sth<->around (informal) to discuss whether an idea or a plan is good or not, before deciding what to do:
It's just an idea we've been batting around.
