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# baton

«baton» in Mova's school dictionary: **a short stick passed from one runner to the next in a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a baton, batons)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A baton is a short stick passed from one runner to the next in a relay race. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#m1)

2) A baton is a thin stick a conductor waves to lead an orchestra or choir. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#m2)

3) A baton is a stick that some police officers carry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#m3)

4) A baton is a stick twirled by a majorette or drum major in a parade. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In PE and sports day, children run relay races passing a baton; dropping it can lose the race. In music lessons, the conductor uses a baton to show the beat. Phrases: «pass the baton» (also meaning to hand over a job to someone else), «relay baton».

### examples

- She passed the baton to the next runner. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x1)
- Don't drop the baton in the relay! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x2)
- The conductor raised her baton and the band began. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x3)
- The police officer carried a baton. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x4)
- The majorette twirled her baton in the parade. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x5)
- Our team won the relay because the baton passes were quick. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x6)
- The old captain passed the baton to a younger player. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x7)
- A relay team has four runners and one baton. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x8)
- She now only held the naked skewer, and lifted it up as a conductor lifts his baton at a concert. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/#x9)

### note

Countable: a baton, batons. Pronounced «BAT-on» in British English and «buh-TON» in American English. Do not confuse with «batten» (a strip of wood) or «baton rouge» (a city name).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «baton» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baton/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.