battered; battering; batters
1
a
: to beat with successive blows so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish
battered down the door
women who have been battered by their husbands
b
: bombard
battering targets with artillery fire
battering the lawyer with questions
c
law
: to commit battery against (someone) : to offensively touch or use force on (a person) without the person's consent
… was battered and cut badly enough to be hospitalized overnight.—
N. R. Kleinfield
N. R. Kleinfield… studies showing that a woman is at greatest risk of being battered, and even murdered, by her partner when he suspects her of sexual infidelity.—Sharon Begley
Sharon Begley2
: to subject to strong, overwhelming, or repeated attack
battered by forces of change
Their confidence was battered by a series of losses.
3
: to wear or damage by hard usage or blows
a battered old hat
1
2
law
: to commit battery against another : to offensively touch or use force on a person without the person's consent
… the personality characteristics and life histories that lead men to batter and kill.—Erica Goode
Erica Goode1
a
: a mixture consisting chiefly of flour, egg, and milk or water and being thin enough to pour or drop from a spoon
thin pancake batter
b
: a mixture (as of flour and egg) used as a coating for food that is to be fried
dip the chicken in the batter
beer batter
2
: an instance of battering (see batter entry 1)
battered; battering; batters
food
: to coat with a mixture (as of flour and egg) for frying : to coat (food) with batter (see batter entry 2 sense 1b)
fish that has been battered and fried
: a receding upward slope of the outer face of a wall or other structure
battered; battering; batters
: to give a receding upward slope to (something, such as a wall)
: one that strikes or hits a ball with a bat
especially
: the player whose turn it is to bat
The pitcher walked the first batter.
Synonyms
Verb (1)
- bash
- baste
- bat
- beat
- belabor
- belt
- birch
- bludgeon
- buffet
- bung up
- club
- curry
- do
- drub
- fib [British]
- flog
- hammer
- hide
- lace
- lambaste
- lambast
- lash
- lather
- lick
- maul
- mess (up)
- paddle
- pelt
- pommel
- pound
- pummel
- punch out
- rough (up)
- slate
- slog
- switch
- tan
- thrash
- thresh
- thump
- tromp
- wallop
- whale
- whip
- whop
- whap
- whup
- work over
Examples of batter in a Sentence
Verb (1)
children battered the piñata until it broke open
planes battered the city for weeks
Recent Examples on the WebWalter Villa, Miami Herald, 23 May 2024
Then, after swiping second for his 13th steal of the season (tied for seventh in the majors), Ohtani scored on Will Smith’s double two batters later, helping spark a rally that nearly tied the score.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
With the winning run 90 feet from home and fatigue seemingly setting in, Pound dug deep and struck out the next two batters swinging on pitches No. 82 and 86.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 18 May 2024
Montgomery came back and struck the next batter out, ending the game and closing the book on Southlake’s season.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 May 2024
Counts, the next batter, extended the lead to 2-0 with a double over the head of Minor to score Bragg.
—Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 17 May 2024
Toffee bits are mixed into the pumpkin cake batter and Heath English Toffee Bar garnishes the spiced frosting.
Get The Recipe
15 of 15
Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
This chocolate pumpkin pie is uber-rich and indulgent.
—Mary Alice Russell, Southern Living, 16 May 2024
Team captain Salvador Perez doubled down the left-field line and Hunter Renfroe reached on a fielding error two batters later.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 15 May 2024
Harvard-Westlake was trailing 1-0 entering the fourth inning, with all nine batters retired by Jude Favela.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2024
Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 20 May 2024
In his last outing, Wacha was battered for seven runs against the Texas Rangers.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 May 2024
On Monday, strong storms battered the Plains region, spinning up multiple tornadoes that killed at least one person in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, about 40 miles north of Tulsa.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024
On May 6, parts of the central United States were battered by heavy rain, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes, including a deadly twister that ripped through an Oklahoma town.
—George Walker Iv, Joey Cappelletti, and Ed White, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 May 2024
Her two-story brick home was battered with wood and debris.
—Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 8 May 2024
The assault had occurred six days after a judge released him from his previous arrest – on a charge of battering an elder.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
For instance, more people are moving into areas along the Front Range that frequently get battered by hail.
—Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, 11 May 2024
Grabowski clearly drew on her own upbringing in Scituate, Mass. — another insular South Shore town battered by coastal erosion and flooding — in shaping her setting, though Nashquitten is more worn down at the heels.
—Kristen Martin, NPR, 11 May 2024
Noun
But Ziehl struck out the next two batters to end the threat.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 23 May 2024
Then, after swiping second for his 13th steal of the season (tied for seventh in the majors), Ohtani scored on Will Smith’s double two batters later, helping spark a rally that nearly tied the score.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2024
With the winning run 90 feet from home and fatigue seemingly setting in, Pound dug deep and struck out the next two batters swinging on pitches No. 82 and 86.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 18 May 2024
Montgomery came back and struck the next batter out, ending the game and closing the book on Southlake’s season.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 May 2024
Counts, the next batter, extended the lead to 2-0 with a double over the head of Minor to score Bragg.
—Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 17 May 2024
Toffee bits are mixed into the pumpkin cake batter and Heath English Toffee Bar garnishes the spiced frosting.
Get The Recipe
15 of 15
Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
This chocolate pumpkin pie is uber-rich and indulgent.
—Mary Alice Russell, Southern Living, 16 May 2024
Team captain Salvador Perez doubled down the left-field line and Hunter Renfroe reached on a fielding error two batters later.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 15 May 2024
Harvard-Westlake was trailing 1-0 entering the fourth inning, with all nine batters retired by Jude Favela.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2024
Verb
Otto was a proud man, a broken man, but nothing battered his spirit and will.
—Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 20 May 2024
In his last outing, Wacha was battered for seven runs against the Texas Rangers.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 May 2024
On Monday, strong storms battered the Plains region, spinning up multiple tornadoes that killed at least one person in Barnsdall, Oklahoma, about 40 miles north of Tulsa.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 9 May 2024
On May 6, parts of the central United States were battered by heavy rain, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes, including a deadly twister that ripped through an Oklahoma town.
—George Walker Iv, Joey Cappelletti, and Ed White, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 May 2024
Her two-story brick home was battered with wood and debris.
—Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 8 May 2024
The assault had occurred six days after a judge released him from his previous arrest – on a charge of battering an elder.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
For instance, more people are moving into areas along the Front Range that frequently get battered by hail.
—Judith Kohler, The Denver Post, 11 May 2024
Grabowski clearly drew on her own upbringing in Scituate, Mass. — another insular South Shore town battered by coastal erosion and flooding — in shaping her setting, though Nashquitten is more worn down at the heels.
—Kristen Martin, NPR, 11 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'batter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Batter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/batter. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
batter
1 of 3 verb
bat·ter
ˈbat-ər 
1
: to beat with repeated violent blows
batter down the door
2
: to wear down or injure by hard use
wore a battered old hat
batterer
noun
batter
2 of 3 noun
: a thin mixture chiefly of flour and liquid beaten together
cake batter
batter
3 of 3 noun
: one that bats
especially
: the baseball player at bat
Etymology
Verb
Middle English bateren "to beat"
Noun
Middle English bater "thin mixture," probably derived from bateren "to beat"
Noun
bat and -er (noun suffix)
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