# bat

> English word · Noun · IPA /bæt/ · frequency rank #4,286

## Definitions
1. Any flying mammal of the order Chiroptera, usually small and nocturnal, insectivorous or frugivorous.
2. An old woman.

## Etymology
Dialectal variant (akin to dialectal Swedish natt-batta) of Middle English bakke, balke, of North Germanic origin. Perhaps compare Old Norse (leðr)blaka (literally “(leather) flapper”), from leðr + blaka (“to flap”).
Compare Old Swedish natbakka, Old Danish nathbakkæ.

## Easily confused with
- **be** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-be)
- **by** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-by)
- **BC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bc)
- **bi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bi)
- **BS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bs)
- **bo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bo)
- **br** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-br)
- **Bt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bt)
- **BB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bb)
- **BP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bp)
- **bf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bf)
- **bd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bd)
- **BL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bl)
- **BM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bm)
- **bn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bn)
- **BG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bg)
- **BJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bj)
- **BW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bw)
- **BH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bh)
- **BX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-bx)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bat