batten
1to thrive by feeding; grow fat.
to feed gluttonously or greedily; glut oneself.
to thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, especially at the expense of others: robber barons who battened on poor workers.
to cause to thrive by or as if by feeding; fatten.
Origin of batten
1Other definitions for batten (2 of 4)
a small board or strip of wood used for various building purposes, as to cover joints between boards, reinforce certain doors, or supply a foundation for lathing.
a transverse iron or steel strip supporting the flooring strips of a metal fire escape.
Nautical.
a thin strip of wood inserted in a sail to keep it flat.
a thin, flat length of wood or metal used for various purposes, as to hold the tarpaulin covering a hatch in place.
Shipbuilding. a flexible strip of wood used for fairing the lines of a hull on the floor of a mold loft.
Theater.
Also called pipe batten. a length of metal pipe hung from the gridiron, for suspending scenery or equipment, as drops, flats, or lighting units.
a narrow strip of lumber for constructing, reinforcing, or joining flats.
a similar strip attached to a drop to keep it flat or taut.
to furnish or bolster with battens.
Nautical. to cover (a hatch) so as to make watertight (usually followed by down).
Machinery. to secure (work) to a table or bed for a machining operation.
Building Trades. to join or assemble (a steel column or the like) with batten plates.
Theater.
to suspend (scenery, stage lights, etc.) from a batten.
to fasten a batten to (a flat or drop).
Origin of batten
2Other words from batten
- bat·ten·er, noun
Other definitions for batten (3 of 4)
(in a loom) the swinging frame for holding and positioning the reed.
a part of the lay of a loom.
to beat (filling yarn) into place with the batten.
Origin of batten
3Other definitions for Batten (4 of 4)
Jean "The Garbo of the Skies", 1909–82, New Zealand aviator: first woman to make solo round-trip flight between England and Australia, 1934–35.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use batten in a sentence
Extreme cold sucks no matter what, and even us northerners tend to batten down the hatches once it dips below -30 or -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dress like an Alaskan to weather the winter cold | By Tyler Freel/Outdoor Life | January 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceWith profits down over 90 percent and a spate of corporate in-fighting, Best Buy is battening down the hatches.
But since April, Bakkus had been battening on the good Archdeacon, his brother's substantial allowance.
The Mountebank | William J. LockeThe battening of this horde soon reduced Southern finances and credit to a grewsome skeleton.
A Speckled Bird | Augusta J. Evans WilsonHerein was a new opportunity for battening on the treasury which was exercised to its utmost.
Montreal 1535-1914 under the French Rgime | William Henry Atherton
Milton uses it transitively in Lycidas, 29: "Battening our flocks with the fresh dews of night."
The Lady of the Lake | Sir Walter ScottSanitary revolutionists and incendiaries accuse us of gorging rottenness, and battening on corruption.
British Dictionary definitions for batten (1 of 3)
/ (ˈbætən) /
a sawn strip of wood used in building to cover joints, provide a fixing for tiles or slates, support lathing, etc
a long narrow board used for flooring
a narrow flat length of wood or plastic inserted in pockets of a sail to give it proper shape
a lath used for holding a tarpaulin along the side of a raised hatch on a ship
theatre
a row of lights
the strip or bar supporting them
Also called: dropper NZ an upright part of a fence made of wood or other material, designed to keep wires at equal distances apart
(tr) to furnish or strengthen with battens
batten down the hatches
to use battens in nailing a tarpaulin over a hatch on a ship to make it secure
to prepare for action, a crisis, etc
Origin of batten
1Derived forms of batten
- battening, noun
British Dictionary definitions for batten (2 of 3)
/ (ˈbætən) /
(intr usually foll by on) to thrive, esp at the expense of someone else: to batten on the needy
Origin of batten
2British Dictionary definitions for Batten (3 of 3)
/ (ˈbætən) /
Jean . 1909–82, New Zealand aviator: the first woman to fly single-handed from Australia to Britain (1935)
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
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