Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - bat

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ~t  Date: before 12th century  1. a stout solid stick ; club  2. a sharp blow ; stroke  3.  a. a usually wooden implement used for hitting the ball in various games  b. a paddle used in various games (as table tennis)  c. the short whip used by a jockey  4.  a. ~sman, ~ter a right-handed ~  b. a turn at ~ting — usually used in the phrase at ~  c. hitting ability we need his ~ in the lineup  5. ~t  6. British rate of speed ; gait  7. binge  II. verb  (~ted; ~ting)  Date: 15th century  transitive verb  1. to strike or hit with or as if with a ~  2.  a. to advance (a base runner) by ~ting  b. to have a ~ting average of  3. to discuss at length ; consider in detail  intransitive verb  1.  a. to strike or hit a ball with a ~  b. to take one's turn at ~  2. to wander aimlessly  III. noun  Etymology: probably alteration of Middle English bakke, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Swedish nattbakka ~  Date: 1580 any of a widely distributed order (Chiroptera) of nocturnal usually frugivorous or insectivorous flying mammals that have wings formed from four elongated digits of the forelimb covered by a cutaneous membrane and that have adequate visual capabilities but often rely on echolocation  IV. transitive verb  (~ted; ~ting)  Etymology: probably alteration of 2~e  Date: circa 1838 to wink especially in surprise or emotion never ~ted an eye; also flutter ~ted his eyelashes BAT  abbreviation bachelor of arts in teaching