Meanings
nounbat phone (plural bat phones)
plural bat phones · alternative batphone · alternative bat-phone
- informalA telephone that has a direct connection to an important caller, or is only used for important calls
Origin
From bat- + phone, after Commissioner Gordon's secure line to the Batphone in the 1960s-era Batman television show.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
bat phone. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat%20phone
MLA
“bat phone.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat%20phone. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bat phone,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat%20phone.
Source: bat phone on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.