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👮 A police stick 🏃 A relay tube 🎼 A conductor's stick 🎪 A twirling rod 🎖️ A symbol of office
baton

baton

10 2.8
A hollow stick passed between runners in a relay race
  • noun
  • /bəˈtɑn/
translation icon : testigo
  • I have decided to retire and pass the baton to a worthy successor.
  • pass the baton
  • relay race baton
  • hand the baton

Examples

  • It is time to pass the baton on to the next generation.

    The United Way (2021)

  • You have to receive the baton properly and then run it in goal yourself.

    Blog text (28)

  • Pass the baton and run!

    A Yank at Oxford (1938)

  • I'll pass the baton off to you.

    Licorice Pizza (2021)

  • We keep trying to pass you the baton.

    Sisters (2015)

  • Time to pass the baton, isn't it?

    Blinder (2013)

  • The MIDI information is passed from instrument to instrument in the same way a baton is passed from runner to runner in a relay race.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Mike passed him the flashlight like a relay racer handing off a baton.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • During the relay, it is crucial to time the handoff of the baton perfectly to avoid losing speed.

  • The runners trained hard to ensure they could smoothly pass the baton in record time.

Idioms

to pass the baton
  • Informal
1 3.5

To give responsibility or control to another person during a planned change

Compounds

baton twirler
1 6.5

A person who spins a thin stick and does tricks in parades or shows

stun baton
1 8.2

A long stick that gives a short electric shock to stop someone temporarily

Baton Rouge Bridge
3.7

A bridge that crosses the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Surface Forms

baton singular
batons plural

Etymology

Baton comes from the French baton meaning 'stick', and in a relay race the baton is simply the small stick runners pass to each other. That's why the relay baton is the object that moves the race forward from hand to hand.