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definitions

fritter

1
[ frit-er ]
/ ˈfrɪt ər /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fritter ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to squander or disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usually followed by away): to fritter away one's money; to fritter away an afternoon.
to break or tear into small pieces or shreds.

verb (used without object)

to dwindle, shrink, degenerate, etc. (often followed by away): to watch one's fortune fritter away.
to separate or break into fragments: a plastic material having a tendency to fritter.

noun

a small piece, fragment, or shred.

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RELATED WORDS

blow, deplete, dissipate, fritter, misspend, squander

Nearby words

  1. frith,
  2. frithstool,
  3. fritillaria,
  4. fritillary,
  5. frittata,
  6. fritter away,
  7. fritto misto,
  8. fritz,
  9. friuli,
  10. friuli-venezia giulia

Origin of fritter

1
1720–30; earlier fitter, derivative of fit (Old English fitt) a part
SYNONYMS FOR fritter
1 dissipate, frivol away, idle away.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fritter ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formsfrit·ter·er, nounun·frit·tered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for fritter away (1 of 2)

fritter

1
/ (ˈfrɪtə) /

verb (tr)

(usually foll by away) to waste or squanderto fritter away time
to break or tear into small pieces; shred

noun

a small piece; shred
Derived Formsfritterer, noun

Word Origin for fritter

C18: probably from obsolete fitter to break into small pieces, ultimately from Old English fitt a piece

British Dictionary definitions for fritter away (2 of 2)

fritter

2
/ (ˈfrɪtə) /

noun

a piece of food, such as apple or clam, that is dipped in batter and fried in deep fat

Word Origin for fritter

C14: from Old French friture, from Latin frictus fried, roasted, from frīgere to fry, parch
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

Idioms and Phrases with fritter away

fritter away

Squander or waste little by little; wear down gradually. For example, She frittered away her salary on odds and ends and saved nothing. This expression was first recorded in Alexander Pope's Dunciad (1728): “How prologues into prefaces decay, And these to notes are fritter'd quite away.”

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.