bat1
n.
- an implement with a handle and a solid surface, used in sports such as cricket or baseball for hitting the ball.
- a slab on which pottery is formed, dried, or fired.
v.
(bats, batting, batted)
- (in sport) take the role of hitting rather than throwing the ball.
- hit with the flat of one's hand.
-
(bat something around/about)
informal casually discuss an idea or proposal.
-
(bat around/about)
informal travel widely, frequently, or casually.
Phrase
- off one's own bat
Brit. informal at one's own instigation. - right off the bat
N. Amer. informal at the very beginning.
Etymology
OE batt ‘club, stick, staff’, perh. partly from OFr. batte, from battre ‘to strike’.
bat2
n.
- a mainly nocturnal mammal capable of sustained flight, with membranous wings that extend between the fingers and limbs.
[Order Chiroptera: many species.]
-
(old bat)
informal an unattractive and unpleasant woman.
Phrase
- have bats in the belfry
informal be eccentric or mad.
Etymology
C16: alt., perh. by assoc. with med. L. batta, blacta, of ME bakke, of Scand. origin; sense 2 is from bat, a sl. term for ‘prostitute’, or from battleaxe.
bat3
v.
(bats, batting, batted)
flutter (one's eyelashes).
Phrase
- not bat
(or without batting)
an eyelid
(or N. Amer. eye)
informal show (or showing) no surprise or concern.
Etymology
C19 (orig. US): from dial. and US bat ‘to wink, blink’, var. of obs. bate ‘to flutter’.