batty
/ˈbæti/adjective, noun
batty is spelled B-A-T-T-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, batty means “Mad, crazy, silly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in batty?
| Letters | 5: B-A-T-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is batty?
Batty appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce batty?
- UK /ˈbæti/
- US /ˈbæti/
- US [ˈbæɾi]
Batty has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-batty.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with batty
Also written: paddy.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with batty?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as batty from its last stressed vowel (/æti/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of batty
- battier comparative
- battiest superlative
- batties plural
- bati
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does batty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
slangMad, crazy, silly.
- 2
obsoleteBelonging to, or resembling, a bat (mammal).
noun
- 1
The buttocks or anus.
- 2
CanadaUKderogatoryA homosexual man.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate batty?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of batty: bat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Batty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mad, crazy, silly:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does batty come from?
From bat + -y. In sense “insane”, attested 1903, from expression have bats in one's belfry, from tendency of bats to fly around erratically. Compare also batshit (“insane”) and squirrelly (“jumpy, eccentric”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).