What does "batter" mean?
A beaten mixture of flour and liquid (usually egg and milk), used for baking (e.g. pancakes, cake, or Yorkshire pudding) or to coat food (e.g. fish) prior to frying.
Batter
/ˈbætə/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A beaten mixture of flour and liquid (usually egg and milk), used for baking (e.g. pancakes, cake, or Yorkshire pudding) or to coat food (e.g. fish) prior to frying.
- Grammar: batter is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: hitter, abuse, albumen, amateur athlete.
- Useful contrasts: bowlers, caress, dough.
- Usage evidence: The manager sent the bunt sign to the batter.
How to use "batter"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "batter" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "batter" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "batter" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "batter" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "batter" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hitter" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "batter", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A beaten mixture of flour and liquid (usually egg and milk), used for baking (e.g. pancakes, cake, or Yorkshire pudding) or to coat food (e.g. fish) prior to frying. countable, uncountable
"To the dismay of his mother, the boy put his finger into the pancake batter."
- 2 An incline on the outer face of a built wall.
- 3 The player attempting to hit the ball with a bat.
"The first batter hit the ball into the corner for a double."
- 4 a liquid or semiliquid mixture, as of flour, eggs, and milk, used in cooking wordnet
- 5 A binge; a heavy drinking session. countable, slang
"When he went on a batter, he became very violent."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A player of the batting side now on the field.
- 7 (baseball) a ballplayer who is batting wordnet
- 8 A paste of clay or loam. countable, uncountable
"The batter or lome that goeth to the making of [bricks]"
- 9 The player now receiving strike; the striker.
- 10 A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form. countable
"In repairing batters at the edges of the plate, when the bevel has been torn away by the catches, &c., it is necessary to solder a piece of metal along the side."
- 11 Any player selected for his or her team principally to bat, as opposed to a bowler.
"It's hard to put this on his shoulders while the guy is so young, but I firmly believe Kane could go down as New Zealand's greatest ever batter."
Verb
- 1 To hit or strike violently and repeatedly.
"The firemen battered down the door."
- 2 To slope (of walls, buildings etc.).
- 3 make a dent or impression in wordnet
- 4 To coat with batter (the food ingredient).
"I prefer it when they batter the cod with breadcrumbs."
- 5 strike violently and repeatedly wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 To defeat soundly; to thrash. figuratively
"Leeds United battered Charlton 7-0."
- 7 strike against forcefully wordnet
- 8 To intoxicate. UK, passive, slang, usually
"That cocktail will batter you!"
- 9 To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it inwardly and spread it outwardly.
- 10 To coat in a paste-like substance; to fasten with a paste-like glue. UK, obsolete
"the bible mentioned in the oath emitted this day , by Andrew Murison , as the book and bible from whence the printed leaves , battered on the B. L. Coy's notes , now challenged as forged , are alleged to be taken"
Example
"The manager sent the bunt sign to the batter."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "batter"?
Common synonyms include: hitter, abuse, albumen, amateur athlete, archer, assault.
How do you use "batter" in a sentence?
The manager sent the bunt sign to the batter.
How do you pronounce "batter"?
Pronounced /ˈbætə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English batteren, batren, bateren, a frequentative of Middle English batten, baten (“to beat”), equivalent to bat + -er (frequentative suffix).
Etymology 2
From Middle English bature, from Old French bateure (“the action of beating”), from batre (“to beat”). Doublet of batture.
Etymology 3
Unknown.
Etymology 4
From bat + -er (agent noun suffix).