bats

Meanings

1. 1nounpluralbiology

   Small flying mammals that are active at night, rest upside down in caves or roofs, and find insects using sound.

   Grammar: Plural of bat: one bat, several bats.

   Patterns

   • bats in something
   • colony of bats

   Bats flew out of the cave at sunset to hunt for insects.

   The old barn was home to dozens of sleeping bats.

   Bats use high-pitched sounds to find their way in the dark.

2. 2nounpluralsport

   Wooden or metal sticks used in sports such as baseball and cricket to hit a ball.

   Grammar: Plural of bat in the sporting sense: the team packed their bats.

   Patterns

   • swing the bats

   The team left their bats at the gate before the match.

   Wooden bats are heavier than the aluminum bats used in school games.

   He bought two new bats for the cricket season.

3. 3adjectiveafter a verbinformalhumorous

   Slightly crazy or very silly in a way people find odd or funny.

   Grammar: Used after be, go or drive: you must be bats; it drove me bats.

   Patterns

   • go bats
   • drive someone bats

   You must be bats if you think I'll jump from that bridge.

   The noise from the party next door is driving me bats.

   She says her uncle is a bit bats but very kind.

Word forms

Common combinations

colony of bats

A colony of bats lives in the church tower.

fruit bats

Fruit bats feed on mangoes and bananas.

wooden bats

The league only allows wooden bats.

go bats

The crowd went bats when the team scored.

drive someone bats

That squeaky chair is driving me bats.

Synonyms and how they differ

crazy

Crazy is a general informal word for odd or wild, while bats is milder and more playful.

batty

Batty means the same as the informal sense of bats but can sound slightly more old-fashioned and gentle.

nuts

Nuts is stronger and more common for expressing that someone seems mad or wildly enthusiastic.

clubs

Clubs is sometimes used for sticks used in games like golf, but not for baseball bats.

Opposites

Word family

bat noun

the animal or the sports tool

batty adjective

informal word for slightly crazy

batter noun

a player who tries to hit the ball

batting noun

the act of hitting the ball in baseball or cricket

Commonly confused: bats or bets?

Practice

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