a large stick; a club; specifically, a piece of wood with one end thicker or broader than the other, used in playing baseball, cricket, etc.-shale or bituminous shale.-a sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting.-a part of a brick with one whole end.-to strike or hit with a bat or a pole; to cudgel; to beat.-to use a bat, as in a game of baseball.-one of the cheiroptera, an order of flying mammals, in which the wings are formed by a membrane stretched between the elongated fingers, legs, and tail. the common bats are small and insectivorous. see cheiroptera and vampire.