---
title: "batear"
translation: "To reject someone. To turn down the approach."
type: "word"
category: "slang"
url: "https://consalsa.app/words/batear"
canonical: "https://consalsa.app/words/batear"
published: "2026-11-05"
updated: "2026-11-05"
author: "Andrey the Nomad"
site: "ConSalsa.App"
license: "https://consalsa.app/terms#ip"
---

# batear
URL: https://consalsa.app/words/batear
Translation: To reject someone. To turn down the approach.
Pronunciation: /ba.teˈaɾ/
Category: slang
Region: Mexico
Register: casual, everyday, safe with anyone
Variants: me bateó, batearon, batear la pregunta
Literal meaning: To bat - to hit the ball away. The rejection sense is that picture with a person in it.
Published: 2026-11-05

Quick answer:
- Batear means to turn somebody down - an approach, or any request at all.
- It is baseball: they pitched, you swung, it went away. The metaphor keeps it light.
- It also means answering a question evasively, and being removed from a job - lo batearon del puesto.

What it means:
- Turning something down. Most often an approach - somebody made a move and you sent it away - but the same verb covers a refused request of any kind, from a raise to an invitation.
- The register is light. Because it is a sports word it carries no cruelty, which is why people use it about themselves without much embarrassment.

Literal meaning:
- To bat. The literal verb is ordinary Spanish and it is alive in every baseball-watching part of Mexico, which is most of the north.
- The rejection sense is the same picture with a person in it: something came at you and you hit it away. Nothing is being destroyed, it just does not come back.

How Mexicans use it:
- The commonest form is the report. Me bateó is what you say the next day, and the tone is closer to amused than wounded.
- It works in the third person too. Bateó a todos en la fiesta is a description of somebody's evening, not an accusation.
- The question sense is common in political coverage. Bateó la pregunta means the answer went somewhere else on purpose.
- It goes well beyond dating. Le pedí aumento al jefe y me bateó is ordinary, and so is los invité y me batearon. It also means to be removed from a job - lo batearon del puesto.

Common mistake:
- Using it for a breakup. Batear refuses a request, and you can do that to a partner - what it never means is ending the relationship. That is cortar or tronar.
- Turning it on yourself. Me bateé does not mean this in Mexico - the verb points at whoever did the refusing, so being refused is me bateó or me batearon.

Examples:
- Me bateó bien feo. — They turned me down flat.
- Le tiré la onda y me bateó. — I made a move and got shot down.
- El gobernador bateó la pregunta. — The governor dodged the question.
- Le pedí aumento al jefe y me bateó. — I asked my boss for a raise and got turned down.

Mini dialogue:
A: ¿Y qué pasó con la del sábado?
B: Nada. Me bateó.
A: ¿En serio? Si se veía interesada.
B: Pues no. Le escribí el domingo y ya nada más me dejó en visto.
A: Eso ya ni es batear, güey. Ésa nomás no te pela.

FAQ:
Q: What does batear mean in Mexican slang?
A: To turn somebody down - to reject an approach. It comes from baseball: they pitched, you swung, it went away.

Q: What does me bateó mean?
A: They turned me down. It is the commonest form, and it lands closer to struck out than to rejected.

Q: Can I use batear for a breakup?
A: No. You can batear a request from a partner, but ending the relationship is cortar or tronar.

Q: Does batear only apply to dating?
A: No. Le pedí aumento al jefe y me bateó is ordinary, and lo batearon del puesto means he was pushed out of a job.

Q: What is batear una pregunta?
A: To answer evasively - to swat the question away rather than address it. Common in political coverage.

Q: Is batear harsh?
A: Not at all. The sports metaphor keeps it light, which is why people say it about themselves easily.

Q: What is the difference between batear and no pelar?
A: An answer against the absence of one. Batear is a refusal; no pelar is being ignored.

Q: How do I say I was the one turned down?
A: Me bateó or me batearon. The verb points at whoever did the refusing; me bateé does not carry this meaning in Mexico.

Related words: cortar, no-me-pela, tirar-la-onda, ligar, sacar-boleto