In cooking, a batter is a thick or thin mixture, usually made of a ground grain, a liquid, and a fat. Batters are used to make cakes, some breads, to coat meat or vegetables when frying, or to make pancakes or cookies. Batter also means to pommel, to beat up, or to inflict harm.


In baseball, the batter is the person who hits the baseball with the bat. There are six ways a batter can get on base other than getting a hit:

  • Reaching on a fielding error.
  • Receiving a base on balls.
  • Being hit by pitch.
  • Reaching on a fielder's choice.
  • Reaching on catcher's interference.
  • A catcher drops a third strike and the batter reaches first base before being tagged or thrown out, if first base is unoccupied with less than two outs.