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betta

American  
[bet-uh] / ˈbɛt ə /
betta British  
/ ˈbɛtə /

noun

  1. another name for fighting fish

"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

Etymology

Origin of betta

1925–30; < New Latin < ?

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.

Claudius lives on in our newsroom as a well-fed betta fish.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

At first she kept every angelfish, betta and gourami.

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2023

In 2018, a customer service team at the Denver International Airport looked after a woman’s pink betta fish for several days while she took a vacation to California.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2022

It featured five robots controlled by betta fish and was “designed to explore interspecies and trans-species communication,” according to Rinaldo’s website.

From The Verge • Jan. 4, 2022

"Boy, you betta get your behind on up to that school."

From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone

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