baton
noun/ˈbætɒn/, /ˈbætɒ̃/
/bəˈtɑːn/
- (also truncheon)(both especially British English)(North American English usually nightstick)a short thick stick that police officers carry as a weapon
- a baton charge (= one made by police carrying batons, to force a crowd back)
Extra ExamplesTopics Law and justicec2- Five people were injured in the baton charge.
- The police were ordered to draw their batons and disperse the crowd.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- wooden
- police
- carry
- hold
- draw
- …
- charge
- a thin light stick used by the person (called a conductor) who is in control of an orchestra, etc.
- The orchestra played brilliantly under Previn’s baton.
Extra ExamplesTopics Musicc2- He tapped his baton on the music stand to get everyone's attention.
- The orchestra made the recording under the baton of a young German conductor.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + baton- raise
- tap
- wave
- …
- under the baton of
- a short light stick that one member of a team in a relay race passes to the next person to run
- to pass/hand over the baton
- (figurative) The President handed over the baton (= passed responsibility) to his successor.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + baton- hand
- pass
- take
- …
- a long stick that is held and thrown in the air by a person marching in front of a band, or by a majoretteOxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + baton
- swing
- twirl
Word Originearly 16th cent. (denoting a staff or cudgel): from French bâton, earlier baston, from late Latin bastum ‘stick’.
Check pronunciation:
baton