baton
noun
ba·ton bə-ˈtän 
ba-,
also ˈba-tᵊn
plural batons
1
: cudgel, truncheon
specifically : billy club
2
: a staff borne as a symbol of office
3
: a narrow heraldic bend
4
: a slender rod with which a leader directs a band or orchestra
5
: a hollow cylinder carried by each member of a relay team and passed to the succeeding runner
6
: a hollow metal rod with a weighted bulb at one or both ends that is flourished by a drum major or drum majorette
7
: a piece of food that has been cut into a narrow strip that is thicker than a julienned piece of food
We cut carrots into slabs, then batons, then dice.
Janet Rausa Fuller
Janet Rausa Fuller
Synonyms
- bastinado
- bastinade
- bat
- billy
- billy club
- bludgeon
- cane
- club
- cudgel
- nightstick
- rod
- rung [Scottish]
- sap
- shillelagh
- shillalah
- staff
- truncheon
- waddy [Australian]
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The majorette twirled the baton. the detainee claimed that the police had beat him with their batons even after he had been shackled
Recent Examples on the Web There are the usual mishaps: One girl drops a baton; another trips on her feather boa. Good Housekeeping, 3 Sep. 2022 Kazimer beat one man with a police baton and pepper-sprayed another woman. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 1 Sep. 2022 Playing under Wilson’s baton, the musicians represent a range of Ukrainian ensembles, and some are members of orchestras elsewhere in Europe. New York Times, 19 Aug. 2022 But as the black hole evaporates, the area shrinks, and the new formula takes the baton as the true representative of the radiation's entanglement entropy. Ahmed Almheiri, Scientific American, 17 Aug. 2022 At the ceremony, Charles read a special message from his mother Queen Elizabeth, who had written it and included it in the baton that was relayed across the Commonwealth over the last nine months in the run-up to the games. PEOPLE.com, 29 July 2022 But Franchy Cordero struck out on a full-count fastball and Cimber handed the baton to All-Star reliever Jordan Romano, who fell behind in the count before inducing Bobby Dalbec to fly out to center to end the inning. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2022 Jonathon Heyward, who will take the top baton at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2023, is a charismatic 29-year-old with long, loose curls. Mary Carole Mccauley, Baltimore Sun, 22 July 2022 Nelson Mandela saw his birthday as an opportunity for public service, hoping to inspire the next generation to take up the baton of social justice. Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 July 2022 See More
Good Housekeeping, 3 Sep. 2022 Kazimer beat one man with a police baton and pepper-sprayed another woman. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 1 Sep. 2022 Playing under Wilson’s baton, the musicians represent a range of Ukrainian ensembles, and some are members of orchestras elsewhere in Europe. New York Times, 19 Aug. 2022 But as the black hole evaporates, the area shrinks, and the new formula takes the baton as the true representative of the radiation's entanglement entropy. Ahmed Almheiri, Scientific American, 17 Aug. 2022 At the ceremony, Charles read a special message from his mother Queen Elizabeth, who had written it and included it in the baton that was relayed across the Commonwealth over the last nine months in the run-up to the games. PEOPLE.com, 29 July 2022 But Franchy Cordero struck out on a full-count fastball and Cimber handed the baton to All-Star reliever Jordan Romano, who fell behind in the count before inducing Bobby Dalbec to fly out to center to end the inning. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2022 Jonathon Heyward, who will take the top baton at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2023, is a charismatic 29-year-old with long, loose curls. Mary Carole Mccauley, Baltimore Sun, 22 July 2022 Nelson Mandela saw his birthday as an opportunity for public service, hoping to inspire the next generation to take up the baton of social justice. Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
French bâton, from Old French baston, ultimately from Late Latin bastum stick
First Known Use
1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing baton
Kids Definition
baton
noun
ba·ton bə-ˈtän
ba-
1
: a thin stick with which a leader directs an orchestra or band
2
: a rod with a ball at one or both ends that is carried by a person leading a marching band
3
: a stick that is passed from one runner to the next in a relay race
batons
noun
as in canes
a heavy rigid stick used as a weapon or for punishment the detainee claimed that the police had beat him with their batons even after he had been shackled Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- canes
- truncheons
- nightsticks
- staves
- mallets
- maces
- rods
- cudgels
- bats
- bludgeons
- staffs
- clubs
- shillelaghs
- hammers
- billies
- billy clubs
- staves
- bastinadoes
- waddies
- bastinades
- rungs
- shillalahs
- saps
- blackjacks
- birches
- knobkerries
- sledgehammers
- beetles
- rattans
- mauls
- hickories
- gavels
- switches
- crooks
- crabsticks
- croziers
- crosiers
- walking sticks
- whangees
