batter

C1 Topic:Cooking & Baking

US /ˈbætɚ/ UK /ˈbætə/ See IPA manual

Freq #9917

Meanings

1

verb
To hit something hard and repeatedly.

The firefighters battered down the door to reach the family.
2

verb
To damage something by hitting it many times.

The little boat was battered by the waves all night.
3

verb
To coat food in batter before frying.

They batter the fish before deep-frying it.
4

verb
To defeat an opponent very badly.

Leeds United battered Charlton seven to nil.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to hit something hard and... buffet baste

2 verb · to damage something by... dinge

4 verb · to defeat an opponent very... thrash

More batsman

Word family

Forms batteringbatters

Derived forms batterablebattercakebattereebatterlessbatterlike

Related forms bat battery

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

batter bread
a soft cornmeal bread made from batter and eaten with a spoon

Noun + noun

Tongue twisters (1)

See all

Betty Botter
Betty Botter bought some butter. “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter; If I put it in my batter, It will make my batter bitter; But a bit of better butter Will but make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter Better than the bitter butter, And made her bitter batter better. So it was better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.

Compare the vowels in bit, better, batter and butter while keeping /b/ steady. Use your normal accent for the middle consonant of Betty, ...

Simplified etymology

Batter came into Middle English through French and ultimately derives from Latin battuere, “to strike” or “beat.” It is historically related to battle, battalion, battery, and combat.

Etymology

From Middle English batteren, batren, bateren, a frequentative of Middle English batten, baten (“to beat”), equivalent to bat + -er (frequentative suffix).

batteren Middle English batten Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cooking & Baking Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# batter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbætɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbætə/
**Frequency rank:** 9917

## Meanings
1. To hit something hard and repeatedly.
2. To damage something by hitting it many times.
3. To coat food in batter before frying.
4. To defeat an opponent very badly.

## Examples
- The firefighters battered down the door to reach the family.
- The little boat was battered by the waves all night.
- They batter the fish before deep-frying it.
- Leeds United battered Charlton seven to nil.

## Synonyms
- batsman

## Derived Forms
- batterable
- battercake
- batteree
- batterless
- batterlike

## Related Forms
- bat
- battery

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: batteren
- Root: batten

## Etymology
From Middle English batteren, batren, bateren, a frequentative of Middle English batten, baten (“to beat”), equivalent to bat + -er (frequentative suffix).

## AI Etymology
Batter is from Middle English batteren, batren, bateren, a frequentative of Middle English batten, baten (“to beat”), equivalent to bat + -er (frequentative suffix). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern verbal form is built from the named base and affix. In present-day use, it can mean to hit something hard and repeatedly, or to damage something by hitting it many times. Related forms include bat, battery. Derived formations include batterable, battercake, batteree, batterless, batterlike.

## Topics
- Cooking & Baking
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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