Home US English at-bat

Definition of at-bat in English:

at-bat

noun

Baseball

  • A player's turn at batting, as officially recorded.

    Compare with plate appearance

    ‘O'Neill had three singles in four at-bats’
    • ‘He joins Wilson and Juan Samuel as the only players ever to record 700-plus at bats in a season.’
    • ‘He is also the first player in baseball history to have more times on base than official at bats over the course of a season.’
    • ‘He wondered how a player this bad could be given 3000 at bats in the major leagues.’
    • ‘Phillips averaged 78 at bats in the first four months of the season.’
    • ‘The following year he punched out four homers while leading the league with 691 at bats.’
    • ‘But recently, he's been smashing the ball for extra base hits nearly every at bat.’

Pronunciation

at-bat

/ətˈbat/ /ətˈbæt/

adverb

(also at bat)
Baseball

  • When batting.

    ‘an infielder hit safely in seven consecutive times at bat’
    • ‘My second time at bat was in Baltimore, and I got my first home run off Robin Roberts, one of the all-time great pitchers.’
    • ‘He was easily one of the dominating first basemen of his generation, both at bat and on the field.’
    • ‘The way to win baseball games is to score runs when at bat and prevent runs when in the field.’
    • ‘‘You go into second base and knock somebody into left field, and the next time you're at bat you get hit,’ Walker said.’
    • ‘Here's a rundown of some of the most glaring failures at bat, in the field, or on the mound in a single World Series.’

Pronunciation

at-bat

/ətˈbat/ /ətˈbæt/