Bat
/bæt/
nounverbA1
Definition
As a noun, a bat is a small mammal with wings that can fly, mostly active at night. As a verb, "to bat" means to hit something, often a ball, using a bat or a similar object, usually in sports like baseball or cricket.
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⚡ See It in Action
Noun: A small flying mammal active at night
- •Bats sleep during the day and fly at night.
- •We saw a bat flying near the trees after sunset.
- •Bats use sound to find their way in the dark.
Verb: To hit something, especially a ball, with a bat or similar object
- •He batted the ball very hard during the game.
- •She bats well in cricket and often scores many runs.
- •The player batted left-handed.
🧲 Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "bat" like "bird" (A1 word), but a bat is a mammal that flies at night, not a bird.
- ✓Picture a small dark animal with wings flying quietly in the night sky.
- ✓It's the feeling of playing baseball and swinging a bat to hit the ball.
- ✓Sounds like "bat" → imagine a baseball bat hitting a ball with a sharp "bat" sound.
- ✓In stories, bats often appear in dark caves or at night, sometimes in Halloween stories.
- ✓NOT like "bird" (has feathers and flies in the day), bats have fur and fly mostly at night.
- ✓As an action, NOT like "kick" (use feet), "bat" uses hands and a tool to hit.
- ✓The noun bat is an animal; the verb bat is an action related to sports.
🔄 Try Other Words
- •Strike: to hit something (Use when talking about hitting in sports or forcefully)
- •Club: a heavy stick used for hitting (Use when referring to the object used to bat)
- •Fly: to move through the air (Use when talking about the bat as an animal)
🔍 Unboxing
- •Word parts: simple root word "bat"
- •Etymology: Old English "bat" meaning a club or stick for hitting; also used for the flying mammal from Middle English
- •Historical development: The word "bat" has been used for the animal and the hitting tool for many centuries
- •Modern usage: Commonly used in sports (baseball, cricket) and in nature to describe the animal
- •Interesting fact: The animal bat is the only mammal capable of sustained flight
💭 Reflect & Connect
•How do you think the word "bat" changes meaning depending on whether you talk about animals or sports?
•Can you think of other words in English that have very different meanings like "bat"?
Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1.The bat flew out of the ___ as the sun went down.
2.He swung the bat hard and ___ the ball far across the field.
3.Bats use ___ to find insects in the dark.
4.In baseball, a player must ___ the ball to score points.
5.A bat is different from a bird because it has ___, not feathers.
6.When you ___ a ball, you usually use a special wooden or metal stick.
7.The sound of the ball hitting the bat was loud and ___.