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fatten

[fat-n]
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verb (used with object)

to make fat.
to feed (animals) abundantly before slaughter.
to enrich: to fatten the soil; to fatten one's pocketbook.
Cards.
  1. Poker.to increase the number of chips in (a pot).
  2. Pinochle.to play a card that scores high on (a trick) expected to be taken by a partner.

verb (used without object)

to grow fat.

RELATED WORDS

swell, broaden, augment, feed, thicken, bloat, distend, wax, increase, spread, stuff, thrive, cram, plump, expand, fill, overfeed, coarsen

Nearby words

  1. fatsia,
  2. fatso,
  3. fatstock,
  4. fatted calf,
  5. fatted calf, kill the,
  6. fattening,
  7. fattish,
  8. fattism,
  9. fatty,
  10. fatty acid

Origin of fatten

First recorded in 1545–55; fat + -en1
Related formsfat·ten·a·ble, adjectivefat·ten·er, nouno·ver·fat·ten, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fatten

British Dictionary definitions for fatten

fatten

verb

to grow or cause to grow fat or fatter
(tr) to cause (an animal or fowl) to become fat by feeding it
(tr) to make fuller or richer
(tr) to enrich (soil) by adding fertilizing agents
Derived Formsfattenable, adjectivefattener, nounfattening, adjective
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 fatten

fatten

v.

1550s, from fat + -en (1). Related: Fattened. The earlier verb was simply fat (Old English fættian "to become fat, fatten"); e.g. fatted calf.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper