bat vs flipper

bat

noun
  • A turn at hitting the ball with a bat in a game. 

  • A part of a brick with one whole end. 

  • A club made of wood or aluminium used for striking the ball in sports such as baseball, softball and cricket. 

  • Rate of motion; speed. 

  • Manner; rate; condition; state of health. 

  • Any of the flying mammals of the order Chiroptera, usually small and nocturnal, insectivorous or frugivorous. 

  • A stroke of work. 

  • A rough walking stick. 

  • The piece of wood on which the spinner places the coins and then uses for throwing them. 

  • A sheet of cotton used for filling quilts or comfortables; batting. 

  • A stroke; a sharp blow. 

  • Shale or bituminous shale. 

  • An old woman. 

verb
  • To hit with a bat or (figuratively) as if with a bat. 

  • To take a turn at hitting a ball with a bat in sports like cricket, baseball and softball, as opposed to fielding. 

  • To flit quickly from place to place. 

  • To flutter 

  • To strike or swipe as though with a bat. 

  • To wink. 

flipper

noun
  • A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play. 

  • Television remote control, clicker. 

  • A type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins backwards and skids off the pitch with a low bounce. 

  • A kind of false tooth, usually temporary. 

  • A small flat used to support a larger one. 

  • Someone who flips, in the sense of buying a house or other asset and selling it quickly for profit. 

  • Someone who flips in any other sense, for example throwing a coin. 

  • In marine mammals such as whales, a wide flat limb, adapted for swimming. 

  • A flat, wide, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming. 

  • A kitchen spatula. 

verb
  • To lift one or both flippers out of the water and slap the surface of the water. 

How often have the words bat and flipper occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )