batter's box
4
4.3
- noun
- /ˈbætərz bɑks/
- US
:
caja del bateador
- With two strikes against him, he took a deep breath and focused on the ball while in the batter's box.
- step into the batter's box
- stand in the batter's box
- get into the batter's box
Examples
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The guy from Yakima took his place in the batter's box.
Fiction book (1996) -
Ortiz settles in the batter's box.
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You gotta step in the batter's box.
-
Get in the batter's box.
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Matt quickly took two short steps back in the batter's box.
Blog text (33) -
Frank Sullivan steps into the batter's box.
Fiction book (2000) -
But this time the score was 2-2 when Rob stepped into the batter's box.
Fiction book (1996) -
Mr. Pete Reiser steps up into the batter's box.
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- Hey, Jack, I don't wanna bother you, but you might have better luck if you stay in the batter's box.
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He says this while stepping back into the batter's box and lifts his bat up to the ready.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
511
2.9
A small enclosed area where people sit or watch, for example at a theatre
Surface Forms
Morphology
batter's + box
The meaning 'the marked area where the batter stands' is directly derivable from the possessive 'batter's' (the person who bats) combined with 'box' (a small delimited area), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the referent. Although it's a sport-specific term, it follows a standard possessive+noun composition and thus is transparently interpretable by B1 learners familiar with the words.
Etymology
Batter's box comes from the simple picture of a batter standing in a box: early fields drew a chalk or painted square beside home plate where the batter had to stand. So, batter's box today means the marked area 'where the batter stands'.