bat

bat¹ S3 [bæt] n

[Sense: 1,5-7; Date: 1500-1600; Origin: back 'bat' (14-16 centuries), probably from a Scandinavian language.]

[Sense: 2-4; Origin: Old English batt]

1.) a small animal like a mouse with wings that flies around at night

→↑fruit bat

2.)

a) a long wooden stick with a special shape that is used in some sports and games

▪ a baseball bat

▪ a cricket bat

b) BrE a round flat piece of wood with a handle, used to hit a ball in ↑table tennis

American Equivalent: paddle

3.) be at bat

to be the person who is trying to hit the ball in a game of ↑baseball

4.) do sth off your own bat

BrE informal to do something without being told to do it

▪ She went to see a solicitor off her own bat.

5.) do sth right off the bat

AmE informal to do something immediately

▪ He said yes right off the bat.

6.) like a bat out of hell informal

very fast

▪ I drove like a bat out of hell to the hospital.

7.) old bat

spoken an unpleasant old woman

→as blind as a bat at ↑blind¹ (1c)

bat ²

bat² v past tense and past participle batted present participle batting

[Sense: 1, 4-5; Date: 1400-1500; Origin: BAT¹2]

[Sense: 2-3; Date: 1800-1900; Origin: Probably from bate 'to beat the wings' (13-20 centuries), from Old French batre 'to hit']

1.) [I and T]

to hit the ball with a bat in ↑cricket or ↑baseball

2.) not bat an eye/eyelid informal

to not seem to be shocked, surprised, or embarrassed

▪ They started talking about sex, but she didn't bat an eyelid.

3.) bat your eyes/eyelashes

if a woman bats her eyes, she opens and closes them several times quickly in order to look attractive to men

4.) go to bat for sb

AmE informal to help and support someone

5.) be batting a thousand

AmE informal to be very successful

▪ She's been batting a thousand ever since she got that new job.

bat around [bat sth<=>around] phr v

to discuss various ideas or suggestions