fritter
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to squander or disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usually followed byaway ).
to fritter away one's money; to fritter away an afternoon.
- Synonyms:
- dissipate
-
to break or tear into small pieces or shreds.
verb (used without object)
-
to dwindle, shrink, degenerate, etc. (often followed byaway ).
to watch one's fortune fritter away.
-
to separate or break into fragments.
a plastic material having a tendency to fritter.
noun
noun
verb
-
(usually foll by away) to waste or squander
to fritter away time
-
to break or tear into small pieces; shred
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
frittersimple
-
fritterssimple
-
have fritteredperfect
-
has fritteredperfect
-
am fritteringprogressive
-
are fritteringprogressive
-
is fritteringprogressive
-
have been fritteringperfect progressive
-
has been fritteringperfect progressive
Past
-
fritteredsimple
-
had fritteredperfect
-
was fritteringprogressive
-
were fritteringprogressive
-
had been fritteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fritter1
1720–30; earlier fitter, derivative of fit ( Old English fitt ) a part
Origin of fritter2
1350–1400; Middle English friture, frytour < Old French friture < Late Latin frīctūra a frying, equivalent to Latin frict ( us ), past participle of frīgere to fry 1 + -ūra -ure
Explanation
A person who fritters chooses to spend their energy on things that are wasteful. You can fritter money, time, or energy, but once you've "frittered it away," you can't get it back! The first time you get a paycheck, you might be tempted to go on a spending spree, buying fireworks, a rabbit costume, and a giant gumball machine. But be careful, because if you fritter away your hard-earned cash like that, you won’t have any left for important things, like food and rent. The Old English root of the word means “break into fragments,” which is what happens to someone who fritters their life away.
Vocabulary lists containing fritter
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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.
See Examples For:
For now, however, many young workers should still be able to find positions so they can afford to fritter away their youth, as is tradition.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Restaurant-delivery apps have become “an easy, and lazy, way to fritter your money away instead of investing,” Valega said.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 6, 2026
I clear my schedule and hole up in the library, only to fritter away hours doing everything but writing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Their extensive donut menu has 30 variations, including chocolate wildberry fritter, salt and vinegar, red velvet cake and orange dream star.
From Salon ● May 28, 2025
They had brought over the fritter and drink stands from the Street of the Turks and the people were in good spirits as they bore the tedium of waiting and the scorching sun.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Order a round of fritters, a rum punch and a plate of griot, a citrusy pork dish that is slow-braised and then fried until crisp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Our tablemates had purchased a litany of fried options, including scotch eggs from the Quail Inn, which also serves bacon-wrapped jalapeño peppers, cheese fritters and “whole, partially deboned quail.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
Faced with a chilly house, some users might then dial up the power on their heat pump - but if you do that, much of the efficiency advantage fritters away, he says.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026
Highlights of the evening include bay water sweet oysters, tuna crudo, crab bisque fritters and pan-seared Alaskan halibut. 5-9 p.m.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 2023
The smell of frying prawns came from the food cart selling freshly made fritters on the beach.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
Dr Kelly told the Sunday Show that change and improvement had been "frittered away" since then, helping to fuel scenes like those seen in the past week.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Some lines may be familiar: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation”; “Our life is frittered away by detail ... simplify, simplify!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
Soon after, at 5-2, Alcaraz held two match points that he frittered away; he got broken for the first time to make it 5-3; and another match point came and went at 5-4.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 6, 2023
Maybe you’ve frittered away hours on Microsoft Flight Simulator.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2023
I’d frittered away the better part of a week and now that dream of a mountain had just crumbled to dust.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
The meek Eagles sputtered and stalled, brainlessly frittering a time out that might have extended the game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
Ray plainly resents Bankman-Fried for trying to blame the bankruptcy team for frittering away FTX’s value and his claim that he tried to help Ray restructure the company but was rebuffed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2024
This is only frittering if it becomes excessive.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2023
It’s hard to imagine the money you are frittering away giving you the kind of entertainment you could have with $125,000 after three decades.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2022
It is impossible even to get a machine to run without wasting energy, frittering some of its power into the universe as heat.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
