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definitions

batter

1
[bat-er]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to beat persistently or hard; pound repeatedly.
  2. to damage by beating or hard usage: Rough roads had battered the car. High winds were battering the coast.
verb (used without object)
  1. to deal heavy, repeated blows; pound steadily: continuing to batter at the front door.
noun
  1. Printing.
    1. a damaged area on the face of type or plate.
    2. the resulting defect in print.

Origin of batter

1
1300–50; Middle English bateren, probably < Middle French, Old French batre to beat (see bate2), with the infinitive ending identified with -er6; compare Anglo-French baterer

Synonyms for batter

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1. belabor, smite, pelt. 2. bruise, wound; smash, shatter, shiver; destroy, ruin.

batter

2
[bat-er]
noun
  1. a mixture of flour, milk or water, eggs, etc., beaten together for use in cookery.
verb (used with object)
  1. to coat with batter.

Origin of batter

2
1350–1400; Middle English bat(o)ur, bat(e)re, perhaps < Anglo-French bature, Old French bat(e)ure act of beating (bat(re) to beat (see bate2) + -eure < *-ātūra; see -ate2, -ure), reinforced by batter1

batter

3
[bat-er]
noun
  1. a player who swings a bat or whose turn it is to bat, as in baseball or cricket.

Origin of batter

3
First recorded in 1765–75; bat1 + -er1

batter

4
[bat-er]Architecture
verb (used without object)
  1. (of the face of a wall or the like) to slope backward and upward.
noun
  1. a backward and upward slope of the face of a wall or the like.

Origin of batter

4
First recorded in 1540–50; of obscure origin
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for batter

dough, clobber, mar, demolish, pummel, wreck, beat, shatter, ruin, injure, bruise, cripple, hurt, crush, wallop, buffet, smash, pelt, lash, destroy

Examples from the Web for batter

Contemporary Examples of batter

Historical Examples of batter

British Dictionary definitions for batter

batter

1
verb
  1. to hit (someone or something) repeatedly using heavy blows, as with a club or other heavy instrument; beat heavily
  2. (tr; often passive) to damage or injure, as by blows, heavy wear, etc
  3. (tr) social welfare to subject (a person, esp a close relative living in the same house) to repeated physical violence
  4. (tr) to subject (a person, opinion, or theory) to harsh criticism; attack

Word Origin for batter

C14 bateren, probably from batten to bat 1

batter

2
noun
  1. a mixture of flour, eggs, and milk, used to make cakes, pancakes, etc, and to coat certain foods before frying

Word Origin for batter

C15 bater, probably from bateren to batter 1

batter

3
noun
  1. sport a player who bats

batter

4
noun
  1. the slope of the face of a wall that recedes gradually backwards and upwards
verb
  1. (intr) to have such a slope

Word Origin for batter

C16 (vb: to incline): of uncertain origin

batter

5
noun
  1. a spree or debauch

Word Origin for batter

C19: of unknown origin
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
Word Origin and History for batter
v.

"strike repeatedly, beat violently and rapidly," early 14c., from Old French batre "to beat, strike" (11c., Modern French battre "to beat, to strike"), from Latin battuere "to beat, strike," an old word in Latin, but almost certainly borrowed from Gaulish, from PIE root *bhau- "to strike" (cf. Welsh bathu "beat;" Old English beadu "battle," beatan "to beat," bytl "hammer, mallet"). Began to be widely used 1962 in reference to domestic abuse. Related: Battered; battering. Battering-ram is an ancient weapon (Latin aries), but the word attested only from 1610s.

n.

"flour, eggs, and milk beaten together," late 14c., from Old French batteure "a beating," from Latin battuere "to beat, knock" (see batter (v.)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper