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Synonyms

batch

American  
[bach] / bætʃ /

noun

  • batches
    plural
  1. a quantity or number coming at one time or taken together.

    a batch of prisoners.

    Synonyms:
    troop, pack, gang, flock, band, set, number, lot, group, bunch
  2. the quantity of material prepared or required for one operation.

    mixing a batch of concrete.

  3. the quantity of bread, cookies, dough, or the like, made at one baking.

  4. Computers.

    1. a group of jobs, data, or programs treated as a unit for computer processing.

    2. batch processing.

  5. Glassmaking.

    1. a quantity of raw materials mixed in proper proportions and prepared for fusion into glass.

    2. the material so mixed.


verb (used with object)

  • batches,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • batched,
    past participle,  past
  • batching
    present participle
  1. to combine, mix, or process in a batch.

batch 1 British  
/ bætʃ /

noun

  1. a group or set of usually similar objects or people, esp if sent off, handled, or arriving at the same time

  2. the bread, cakes, etc, produced at one baking

  3. the amount of a material needed for an operation

  4. Also called: batch loaf.  a tall loaf having a close texture and a thick crust on the top and bottom, baked as part of a batch: the sides of each loaf are greased so that they will pull apart after baking to have pale crumby sides; made esp in Scotland and Ireland Compare pan loaf

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to group (items) for efficient processing

  2. to handle by batch processing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
batch 2 British  
/ bætʃ /

verb

  1. (intr) (of a man) to do his own cooking and housekeeping

  2. to live alone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

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Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of batch

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English bache “amount of bread produced in one baking,” Old English gebæc; akin to German Gebäck “pastry, cakes”; see origin at bake

Explanation

A batch is a completed group, collection, or quantity of something, especially something that's just been made. You might, for example, bake a batch of cookies to take to your new neighbor. A company that makes soap might deliver a batch, loaded on a truck, to a new store in Vermont, and if you manage a bakery you might declare, "That's it! This is our last batch of gingerbread until next year!" In computer lingo, a batch is, similarly, a group or collection of records. The Old English root, bæcce, means "something baked," from bacan, "bake."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing batch

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Another concern is that the first batch of insider shares in SpaceX are eligible to be sold today.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 6, 2026

"There's no external energy input and it can be reused for batch after batch of feedstock," said Kate Griffiths, a chemical analyst at the Royal Mint.

From Barron's Aug. 4, 2026

Instead, this batch of earnings results made clear that companies like Google, which is owned by Alphabet, and Meta are currently spending much more money related to AI tools than they bring in.

From BBC Jul. 31, 2026

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released its first batch of detention data since early April.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 24, 2026

He was finishing a batch of caramel fudge in the cooking room at the back of the store.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers

Unlike most newly-listed firms, SpaceX shares are set to be released in stages: the first 20% on 6 August, with more due in batches through the rest of the year.

From BBC Aug. 6, 2026

She found she could make sculptures relatively quickly, in small batches, and that had emotional value, all while caring for a small child.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 29, 2026

A blender is used to purée the soup in batches before it’s simmered one last time and finished with more butter, salt and pepper.

From Salon Jul. 25, 2026

Some batches did not fully inactivate the virus, and in 1955 the vaccine resulted in 10 deaths and 200 vaccine-related cases of polio paralysis.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 21, 2026

The first batches of mash fermented day after day, with any number of men standing by, like children in Mama Santoni’s kitchen.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Many of these can be batched ahead and used throughout the week — though sometimes, honestly, it’s nice to let a winter salad be a whole project, an entrée you build with intention.

From Salon Dec. 16, 2025

Orders are picked and packed at stores and then moved to sortation centers to be batched based on neighborhood for delivery.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 4, 2025

“App is doing >1000 poorly batched RPCs just to render a home timeline!”

From New York Times Dec. 23, 2022

His Postmates order had been batched with another delivery, and the app requires the driver to wait for both orders to be ready.

From Washington Post Aug. 27, 2021

The miner had not "batched" in the hills for years without having learned how to cook.

From The Highgrader by Hutchison, D. C.

Time-blocking your calendar, batching similar tasks and prioritising certain bits of work can reduce mental overload and decision fatigue.

From BBC Jan. 3, 2026

The agency said that Mars Wrigley didn’t properly train the workers when they went to clean the Dove chocolate batching 20 micron tank.

From Washington Times Feb. 13, 2023

Freezing, drying and canning summer produce, double batching meals and freezing baked goods are all proven strategies.

From Seattle Times Sep. 23, 2022

Close to the batching tower, which may rival the Gadsden Hotel in Douglas as the tallest structure in Cochise County, cement trucks cluster like a litter of puppies.

From Salon Jan. 21, 2020

I contended with myself that there were good girls in my race and coincident with this I quit boarding with them and went to batching again, to try to successfully combat my emotions.

From The Conquest The Story of a Negro Pioneer by Micheaux, Oscar

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