bat
/bæt/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.30 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any flying mammal of the order Chiroptera, usually small and nocturnal, insectivorous or frugivorous.
noun
A club made of wood or aluminium used for striking the ball in sports such as baseball, softball and cricket.
noun
A player rated according to skill in batting.
noun
Example Sentences
- "The Bat—they called him the Bat. Like a bat he chose the night hours for his work of rapine; like a bat he struck and vanished, pouncingly, noiselessly; like a bat he never showed himself to the face of the day."
- "As well as being worth millions of dollars to the Texan agriculture industry, these mammals are worth millions of dollars to the state’s tourism industry. Texas is home to the world’s largest known bat colony (in Comal County), and the world’s largest urban bat colony (in Austin). Bat watching is a common activity, with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offering more bat-viewing sites than anywhere else in the US."
- ""Isn't it lovely?" I smiled and thought: "Yes it is. It's also a Blackbird, you silly old bat!"
- "You've been in for ages. Can I have a bat now?"
- "He's a good fielder and a valuable bat."
- "bituminous shale ; which miners , if I mistake not , call bat"
Etymology
Dialectal variant of Middle English bakke, balke, of North Germanic origin (akin to dialectal Swedish natt-batta). Perhaps compare Old Norse (leðr)blaka (literally “(leather) flapper”), from leðr + blaka (“to flap”). Compare also Old Swedish natbakka, Old Danish nathbakkæ.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bæt/
- British English: /bæt/
Usage
- Derogatory
- British usage
- Informal
- American usage
- Dated
- Slang
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb