Batten

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  • noun. A log less than 11 inches in diameter at the small end.
  • noun. A Strip or scantling of wood.
  • noun. In com., squared timber of 6 or more feet in length, 7 inches in width, and 2½ inches in thickness, used in carpentry and housebuilding for various purposes. Pieces less than 6 feet long are known as batten-ends.
  • noun. In weaving, the beam for striking the weft home; a lathe.
  • To become better; improve in condition (especially by feeding); grow fat; thrive.
  • To feed gluttonously; figuratively, gratify a morbid appetite or craving; gloat: absolutely, or with on or upon.
  • Figuratively, to thrive; prosper; live in ease and luxury, especially at the expense or to the detriment of others: with on, formerly also with: as, to batten on ill-gotten gains.
  • To improve by feeding; fatten; make fat or cause to thrive with plenteous feeding.
  • To fertilize or enrich (the soil).
  • To form or fasten with battens.
  • the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
  • transitive verb. To make fat by plenteous feeding; to fatten.
  • transitive verb. To fertilize or enrich, as land.
  • noun. Sawed timbers about 7 by 2 1/2 inches and not less than 6 feet long.
  • noun. A strip of wood used in fastening the edges of a tarpaulin to the deck, also around masts to prevent chafing.
  • noun. A long, thin strip used to strengthen a part, to cover a crack, etc.
  • noun. a door made of boards of the whole length of the door, secured by battens nailed crosswise.
  • transitive verb. To furnish or fasten with battens.
  • transitive verb. to fasten down with battens, as the tarpaulin over the hatches of a ship during a storm.
  • noun. The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
  • intransitive verb. To grow fat; to grow fat in ease and luxury; to glut one's self.
  • Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
  • noun. A thin strip of wood used in construction to hold members of a structure together or to provide a fixing point.
  • noun. A long strip of wood, metal, fibreglass etc used for various purposes aboard ship, especially one inserted in a pocket sewn on the sail in order to keep the sail flat.
  • noun. In stagecraft, a long pipe, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system in a theater.
  • noun. The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
  • verb. To furnish with battens.
  • verb. To fasten or secure a hatch etc using battens.
  • verb. To become better; improve in condition, especially by feeding.
  • verb. To feed on; to revel in.
  • verb. To thrive by feeding; grow fat; feed oneself gluttonously.
  • verb. To thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, especially at the expense of others; fare sumptuously.
  • verb. To gratify a morbid appetite or craving; gloat.
  • verb. To improve by feeding; fatten; make fat or cause to thrive due to plenteous feeding.
  • WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
  • verb. furnish with battens
  • noun. a strip fixed to something to hold it firm
  • noun. stuffing made of rolls or sheets of cotton wool or synthetic fiber
  • verb. secure with battens
  • Word Usage
    ""And when you don't get one, you kind of batten down the hatches.""
    Hypernym
    Words that are more generic or abstract
    Rhyme
    Words with the same terminal sound
    Catton  Grattan  Latin  Manhattan  Paton  
    Same Context
    Words that are found in similar contexts
    applejack  bahar  barbette  bitt  bollard  
    Synonym
    Words with the same meaning
    verb-form