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:
"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
The first batch put on sale has already sold out.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Anyway, we will install the first batch in strategic locations on campus just to see how they do, and then, if all goes well, we can start using them in the field.”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
When police were called to investigate, they found more than 800 devices, packaged in batches of five, stacked into nine boxes, some wrapped in foil, others in bubble wrap.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 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
Under the rules, those are the employees who would have to screen large batches of outgoing state ballots for compliance with the portal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Despite that, according to the whistleblower who contacted Blumenthal, the directive to reject entire batches if they included just one unverified ballot moved forward.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2026
We all tried the rest of the cupcake batches and agreed.
From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks
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
Dr. Colleen Kraft of Emory University worries that batched testing - with its multiple rounds of screening for some patients - could slow test results, a key factor for getting those infected into quarantine.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 30, 2020
They batched in the office, and did their cooking over a gas lamp.
From While the Billy Boils by Henry Lawson
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
They’re batching cocktails to reduce waste, and are using their own furniture for seating.
From Seattle Times ● May 18, 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 been batching 'bout 20 year and I done los' track mos' dem chillen.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves. Texas Narratives, Part 2 by Work Projects Administration
Definitions 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.
