Definition of Baton

1. Noun. A thin tapered rod used by a conductor to lead an orchestra or choir.

Exact synonyms: Wand
Generic synonyms: Rod

2. Noun. A short stout club used primarily by policemen.
Exact synonyms: Billy, Billy Club, Billystick, Nightstick, Truncheon
Generic synonyms: Club

3. Noun. A short staff carried by some officials to symbolize an office or an authority.
Generic synonyms: Staff

4. Noun. A hollow metal rod that is wielded or twirled by a drum major or drum majorette.
Generic synonyms: Rod

5. Noun. A hollow cylinder passed from runner to runner in a relay race.
Generic synonyms: Sports Implement

Definition of Baton

1. n. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes; as, the baton of a field marshal; the baton of a conductor in musical performances.

Definition of Baton

1. Noun. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes; as, the baton of a field marshal ¹

2. Noun. (music) The stick of a conductor in musical performances. ¹

3. Noun. (sports) An object transferred by runners in a relay race. ¹

4. Noun. A short stout club used primarily by policemen. ¹

5. Noun. (heraldiccharge) An abatement in coats of arms to denote illegitimacy. (Also spelled batune, baston). ¹

6. Verb. To strike with a baton. ¹

7. Noun. (alternative form of baton) ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Baton

1. a short rod [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Baton

batlers
batless
batlet
batlets
batlike
batmaker
batmakers
batman
batmans
batmen
batoidei
batoko palm
batologist
batologists
batology
baton (current term)
baton twirler
batoned
batoning
batonless
batonlike
batons
batoon
batooned
batooning
batoons
batoprazine
batphone
batphones
batrachia

Literary usage of Baton

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General by Thomas Spencer Baynes (1888)
"The baton often marks illegitimacy. The term baton, however, is also applied to the ribbon. (lg. X). ГНИ. ..."

2. University Musical Encyclopedia by Louis Charles Elson (1912)
"ANTON SEIDL ON CONDUCTING (CONCLUDED) Introduction of the baton—Necessity for the Individual Conductor-—His Qualifications and Duties—Opera and Concert ..."

3. The Youth's Companion, Or, An Historical Dictionary: Consisting of Articles by Ezra Sampson (1816)
"baton, an instrument for flagellation in China ; it is a piece of bamboo, ... The offender who has undergone the flagellation of the baton on his naked body ..."

4. American Physical Education Review by American Physical Education Association (1920)
"The equipment consists of two posts or standards placed upright in the ground 100 yards apart (for girls 75 yards apart) for each team, a baton, also a cord ..."

5. The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine by Roy J. Friedman Mark Twain Collection (Library of Congress) (1913)
"Usually his baton is poised lightly between his thumb and the tips of his fingers and at an obtuse angle from his body ; occasionally he grasps it tightly ..."

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