batten down
phrasal verb
battened down; battening down; battens down
1
: to prepare for possible trouble or difficulty
People are battening down in preparation for a fierce storm.
2
: to tie, close, or cover (something) in order to prevent it from moving or becoming damaged
Everything on the ship's deck was battened down.
Examples of batten down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The setup lets campers adjust to the conditions between fully battened down in bad weather to open mesh for warm, stuffy nights.
—
New Atlas, 15 Mar. 2025
Left and right vents at the rooftop provide airflow when fully battened down.
—New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2025
As this wrecking ball swings anew, policymakers across the region had better batten down the hatches.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Or even to batten down the hatches as a coming Trumpian storm imperils the global financial system.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
As the ship sank, Japanese forces battened down the British POWs in the holds, leaving them to die.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024
Walt Disney is joining other theme parks including SeaWorld and Universal that are battening down the hatches and readying to close before Hurricane Milton hits Florida.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2024
As Big Bend residents battened down their homes, many saw the ghost of 2018’s Hurricane Michael.
—Heather Hollingsworth and Stephen Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024
The island is battened down ahead of what is expected to be a hard hit from a powerful storm, bringing up to 9 feet of storm surge, a foot of rain and hurricane-force winds.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 3 July 2024
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New Atlas, 15 Mar. 2025
Left and right vents at the rooftop provide airflow when fully battened down.
—New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2025
As this wrecking ball swings anew, policymakers across the region had better batten down the hatches.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Or even to batten down the hatches as a coming Trumpian storm imperils the global financial system.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
As the ship sank, Japanese forces battened down the British POWs in the holds, leaving them to die.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024
Walt Disney is joining other theme parks including SeaWorld and Universal that are battening down the hatches and readying to close before Hurricane Milton hits Florida.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2024
As Big Bend residents battened down their homes, many saw the ghost of 2018’s Hurricane Michael.
—Heather Hollingsworth and Stephen Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024
The island is battened down ahead of what is expected to be a hard hit from a powerful storm, bringing up to 9 feet of storm surge, a foot of rain and hurricane-force winds.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 3 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Batten down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/batten%20down. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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