Batten

UK: /ˈbæt^ən/ US: /ˈbætən/ ,(bat′n)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Batten / ˈbæt^ən/ noun

1. Jean. 1909–82, New Zealand aviator: the first woman to fly single-handed from Australia to Britain (1935)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bat•ten² /ˈbætən/   n. 

[countable]
1. Building a strip of wood fastened on other boards to keep them in place.
2. Nautical, Naval Terms a length of material used on a ship to fasten down a cover over a hatch.

Idioms

3. batten down the hatches:
   • to secure the covers of a ship's hatches with battens.
   • to prepare to meet an emergency:
     The tornado is coming, so we had better batten down the hatches here and get to the cellar.

See -bat-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bat•ten¹  (bat′n), v.i. 

1. to thrive by feeding;
   grow fat.
2. to feed gluttonously or greedily;
   glut oneself.
3. to thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, esp. at the expense of others:
   robber barons who battened on the poor.

v.t. 

4. Nautical, Naval Terms to cause to thrive by or as if by feeding;
   fatten.

• Old Norse batna to improve; cognate with Gothic gabatnan (bati change for the better + -na infinitive suffix). Compare Old English bet, Gothic batis, Old High German baz better
• apparently 1585–95

bat•ten²  (bat′n), n. 

1. Building a small board or strip of wood used for various building purposes, as to cover joints between boards, reinforce certain doors, or supply a foundation for lathing.
2. Building a transverse iron or steel strip supporting the flooring strips of a metal fire escape.
3. [Naut.]
   • a thin strip of wood inserted in a sail to keep it flat.
   • a thin, flat length of wood or metal used for various purposes, as to hold the tarpaulin covering a hatch in place.
4. [Shipbuilding.] a flexible strip of wood used for fairing the lines of a hull on the floor of a mold loft.
5. Show Business [Theat.]
   • Also called pipe batten. a length of metal pipe hung from the gridiron, for suspending scenery or equipment, as drops, flats, or lighting units.
   • a narrow strip of lumber for constructing, reinforcing, or joining flats.
   • a similar strip attached to a drop to keep it flat or taut.

v.t. 

6. Building to furnish or bolster with battens.
7. [Naut.] to cover (a hatch) so as to make watertight (usually fol. by down).
8. Mechanical Engineering [Mach.] to secure (work) to a table or bed for a machining operation.
9. Building to join or assemble (a steel column or the like) with batten plates.
10. Show Business [Theat.]
    • to suspend (scenery, stage lights, etc.) from a batten.
    • to fasten a batten to (a flat or drop).

• Old French batant, noun, nominal use of past participle of batre to beat; see bate², -ant
• late Middle English bataunt, batent finished board 1400–50

bat′ten•er, n. 

bat•ten³  (bat′n), [Textiles.]
n. 

1. Textiles (in a loom) the swinging frame for holding and positioning the reed.
2. Textiles a part of the lay of a loom.

v.t. 

3. to beat (filling yarn) into place with the batten.

• 1825–35; alteration of French battant; see batten¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

batten / ˈbæt^ən/ noun

1. a sawn strip of wood used in building to cover joints, provide a fixing for tiles or slates, support lathing, etc
2. a long narrow board used for flooring
3. a lath used for holding a tarpaulin along the side of a raised hatch on a ship
4. a row of lights
5. the strip or bar supporting them

verb

1. (transitive) to furnish or strengthen with battens
2. batten down the hatches ⇒ to use battens in nailing a tarpaulin over a hatch on a ship to make it secure
3. to prepare for action, a crisis, etc

Etymology: 15th Century: from French bâton stick; see baton

batten / ˈbæt^ən/ verb

1. (intransitive) usually followed by on: to thrive, esp at the expense of someone else

Etymology: 16th Century: probably from Old Norse batna to improve; related to Old Norse betr better¹, Old High German bazzen to get better