batch
Americannoun
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batches
plural
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a quantity or number coming at one time or taken together.
a batch of prisoners.
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the quantity of material prepared or required for one operation.
mixing a batch of concrete.
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the quantity of bread, cookies, dough, or the like, made at one baking.
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Computers.
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a group of jobs, data, or programs treated as a unit for computer processing.
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Glassmaking.
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a quantity of raw materials mixed in proper proportions and prepared for fusion into glass.
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the material so mixed.
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verb (used with object)
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batches,
present (3rd person singular)
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batched,
past participle, past
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batching
present participle
noun
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a group or set of usually similar objects or people, esp if sent off, handled, or arriving at the same time
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the bread, cakes, etc, produced at one baking
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the amount of a material needed for an operation
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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
verb
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to group (items) for efficient processing
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to handle by batch processing
verb
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(intr) (of a man) to do his own cooking and housekeeping
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to live alone
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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batchsimple
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batchessimple
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have batchedperfect
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has batchedperfect
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am batchingprogressive
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are batchingprogressive
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is batchingprogressive
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have been batchingperfect progressive
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has been batchingperfect progressive
Past
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batchedsimple
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had batchedperfect
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was batchingprogressive
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were batchingprogressive
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had been batchingperfect progressive
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."
Vocabulary lists containing batch
The Martian Chronicles
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Century 21 Accounting, 9e, Chapters 8-10
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"The MGMT Solution," Vocabulary from Chapter 18
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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:
Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore told BBC Radio Sussex that the process has been "shambolic" and that the British Museum should put aside a batch of tickets for locals.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
"It's really taken off like wildfire," he said as a batch of powder was slowly stirred into gelato, turning it a bright purple.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
On tour with Mars, she even took over a kitchen at London’s Wembley Stadium and made a batch for the pop superstar and his band.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said price pressures remain elevated after the latest batch of inflation data released Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
But on the day when Twitch stopped in with a batch of shortbread cookies after everyone else had already arrived, something small but significant happened.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
If your beautiful vintage tureen doesn’t have a heat source, fill it in smaller batches and replenish from soup held hot on the stove.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
Unlike personalized cell therapies, which must be prepared separately using each patient's own cells, such products could potentially be produced in larger batches and made available to multiple patients.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Monday's second stage begins the process of releasing batches of offenders serving increasingly long sentences - culminating next June with those serving more than 12 years.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
New “SNL” episodes usually arrive in batches of three and then the show takes a break for a few weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
The adults are still steaming the corms in batches, but everyone is ready to eat.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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
Anything that will be used across multiple recipes — onions, peppers, garlic, carrots, herbs, sweet potatoes, celery — gets chopped, batched, and set aside all at once.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 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 D. C. Hutchison
I ended up batching three spice blends and gifting them alongside three corresponding recipes.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2025
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
It noted that the workers fell into a batching tank - a tank used to mix ingredients - for Dove chocolate, a brand sold in the US.
From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2023
They’re batching cocktails to reduce waste, and are using their own furniture for seating.
From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2022
I was just batching, and now and then people would come in and report them to me.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 6 by Work Projects Administration
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
