Word of the Day
: October 20, 2021batten
playWhat It Means
Batten means "to furnish or fasten with or as if with supports."
// Residents battened down their doors and windows before the storm.
batten in Context
"Everything was battened down and they were all set to leave the round-the-clock eatery—until they discovered there was no key to the front door. It had been that long since they'd locked it." — Bob Yesbek, The Cape Gazette (Lewes, Delaware), 7 May 2021
Did You Know?
Batten comes from the name for an iron bar used to secure the covering of a hatchway on a ship, which was especially useful in preparation of stormy weather. The verb batten is used in variations of the phrase "batten down the hatches," which means "to prepare for a difficult or dangerous situation." It winds back to Latin battuere, meaning "to beat."
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Quiz
What 5-letter word is the name for an object (as at a dock) around which a rope can be tied or a projecting piece on the bottom of a shoe to prevent slipping?
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