Library / English Dictionary

BAT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: batted    , batting   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(baseball) a turn trying to get a hit

Example:

he got four hits in four at-bats

Synonyms:

at-bat; bat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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 2

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

bat; chiropteran

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

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 3

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)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The club used in playing cricket

Example:

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

Synonyms:

bat; cricket bat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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 small racket with a long handle used for playing squash

Synonyms:

bat; squash racket; squash racquet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Wink briefly

Example:

bat one's eyelids

Synonyms:

bat; flutter

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

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

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

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Beat thoroughly and conclusively in a competition or fight

Example:

We licked the other team on Sunday!

Synonyms:

bat; clobber; cream; drub; lick; thrash

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strike with, or as if with a baseball bat

Example:

bat the ball

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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 4

Meaning:

Use a bat

Example:

Who's batting?

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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:

Have a turn at bat

Example:

Jones bats first, followed by Martinez

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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

Credits

 Context examples: 

The Henipavirus natural reservoir is considered to be fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family and cause influenza-like illness in humans.

(Henipavirus, NCI Thesaurus)

It grows in soil and material contaminated with bat or bird droppings.

(Histoplasmosis, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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

(Nipah Virus, NCI Thesaurus)

Filoviridae infect primates, pigs and bats in nature and are a causitive agent of viral hemorrhagic fevers in humans and primates.

(Filoviridae, NCI Thesaurus)

The Ebolavirus natural reservoir is considered to be fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family and cause severe hemorrhagic fevers in humans.

(Ebola Virus, NCI Thesaurus)

Using a new computer model, the two types of information were combined to determine the volcanic equivalent of a batting order for Arsia Mons' 29 vents.

(Mars Volcano, Earth's Dinosaurs Went Extinct About the Same Time, NASA)

These zoonotic viruses are found mostly in rodent reservoirs, although the Tacaribe virus was isolated from a bat.

(Arenavirus, NCI Thesaurus)

A team sport played with a bat and ball by 2 teams of 9 players.

(Baseball, NCI Thesaurus)

He plodded on with bowed head, unobservant, mechanically rubbing nose and cheeks, and batting his steering hand against the gee-pole in the straight trail-stretches.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I found him asleep twice when I awoke; but I did not fear to go to sleep again, although the boughs or bats or something napped almost angrily against the window-panes.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)