bat
bat — noun
1. a long, smooth wooden stick with a handle that players swing to strike a moving
a long, smooth wooden stick with a handle that players swing to strike a moving ball — for example, in baseball, cricket, or table tennis.
Amara picked up her baseball bat and walked toward home plate.
compound: baseball bat
Nikolai swung the cricket bat hard and sent the ball over the fence.
verb collocation: swing a bat
The coach handed each child a small wooden bat for practice.
Jin gripped the bat with both hands and waited for the pitch.
Zara bought a new table tennis bat at the sports shop on Saturday.
用法筆記
In American English, a flat paddle for table tennis is usually called a paddle; British English calls the same thing a bat.
常見錯誤
2. a small furry mammal with thin leathery wings that hunts insects or fruit at nig
a small furry mammal with thin leathery wings that hunts insects or fruit at night and rests upside down during the day, often inside caves or roofs.
Hundreds of bats poured out of the cave at sunset and chased insects.
plural subject: bats poured out
A bat flew through Lior's kitchen window and frightened the cat.
subject-verb pattern: bat flew
Fruit bats hang from the ceiling of the old wooden barn every afternoon.
The biologist used a flashlight to count the bats sleeping on the rocks.
Amara drew a tiny bat with pointed ears for her Halloween card.
- flying fox
informal name for large fruit-eating bats found in tropical regions
用法筆記
Often appears in Halloween or horror imagery alongside vampires, witches, and dark caves; the cultural connotation can be spooky even though the animal itself is harmless to people.
常見錯誤
3. a player's chance to stand at the plate and try to hit pitches in baseball or cr
a player's chance to stand at the plate and try to hit pitches in baseball or cricket, lasting until the player is out or finishes the round.
Jin got two hits during his first bat of the game on Sunday.
noun phrase: his first bat
Each batter is allowed only one bat per inning in this junior league.
phrase: one bat per inning
Zara struck out on her last bat but cheered for her teammate anyway.
The crowd grew quiet as the captain stepped up for his final bat.
用法筆記
Mostly heard in informal sports talk; in formal baseball writing, 'at-bat' or 'plate appearance' is more common. Distinguish from sense 1 (the physical stick).
常見錯誤
bat — verb
1. to swing a wooden bat at an oncoming ball during a baseball or cricket match, or
to swing a wooden bat at an oncoming ball during a baseball or cricket match, or to take your scheduled turn doing this for your team.
Amara batted the ball straight over the fence and into the parking lot.
transitive: bat + the ball
Nikolai will bat first when his team starts the second inning.
intransitive: bat first
Jin batted for the home team and scored the winning run.
Zara practices batting against her father every Saturday afternoon.
The young player batted well in his first cricket match for the school.
文法句型
bat + noun
bat for + team
用法筆記
Used both with and without an object: 'he batted the ball' (transitive) and 'he batted brilliantly' (intransitive). The intransitive use describes performance during your turn.
常見錯誤
2. to tap or push something small with a quick, light hand or paw movement, often t
to tap or push something small with a quick, light hand or paw movement, often the way a cat plays with a toy.
The kitten batted the rolling ball of yarn across the kitchen floor.
subject: animal; object: small moving thing
Amara batted at the wasp with a folded newspaper but missed every time.
pattern: bat at + insect
Nikolai batted the balloon back to his little brother across the living room.
The puppy batted a leaf with its paw and watched it spin away.
文法句型
bat at + noun
bat + noun + away
用法筆記
Object is usually small and light (a fly, a ball of paper, a balloon, a feather). Distinguish from sense 1, which always involves a sports bat and a hard swing.
常見錯誤
3. to flutter your eyelashes up and down on purpose, usually to look charming, flir
to flutter your eyelashes up and down on purpose, usually to look charming, flirt with someone, or get a favor.
Nikolai batted his long eyelashes at the waiter and asked for a free dessert.
fixed expression: bat one's eyelashes at someone
The actress batted her eyes shyly at the camera during the interview.
collocation: bat eyes shyly
Zara batted her lashes and pretended she had no idea what happened.
Jin heard the bad news but did not bat an eye in front of the cameras.
文法句型
bat one's eyelashes / eyes
not bat an eye / eyelid
用法筆記
Almost always appears with 'eyelashes', 'lashes', 'eyes', or 'eyelid'. The negative form 'not bat an eye / eyelid' means to show no surprise or emotion at all — a common idiom worth learning together with this sense.