better
adjEtymology
From Middle English better, bettre, betre, from Old English betera (“better”), from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *batizô (“better”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed-rós, from *bʰed- (“good”). Cognate with Dutch beter, German besser, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål bedre, Norwegian Nynorsk betre, Swedish bättre, Faroese and Icelandic betri. Also Sanskrit भ॒द्र (bhadrá, “blessed; fortunate; happy; good”) (from *bʰn̥d-ró-s). Related to best and battle (“getting better; improving; fruitful; fertile”). Compare also Icelandic batna (“to improve”), bót (“improvement”), German besser. More at batten, boot. False cognate of Persian بهتر (behtar).
Definitions
comparative degree of good and well
- How are you? ~ A little better, thanks.
- Badger: You think you're better than other people. Mal: Just the ones I'm better than.
Greater in amount or quantity
- “The air was still with the lonely thrill of 'now the hour is near' And the smell of sweat was better yet than the awful stench of fear.”
Greater or lesser (whichever is seen as more advantageous), in reference to value,…
Greater or lesser (whichever is seen as more advantageous), in reference to value, distance, time, etc.
- The top electric vehicles have a range of 300 kilometres or better.
- Only one swimmer finished the race with a time better than two minutes.
›+ 9 more definitionsshow fewer
Healed or recovered from an injury or illness.
- We can't go to the zoo today because you're sick; let's go when you're all better.
comparative form of well
comparative form of well: more well
- The engine runs better now that I've given it some oil.
- I could never better stead thee than now.[…]
- “I’ve had enough of cycling with you chaps. I can spend my Sundays better than in tormenting cats and quarrelling and fighting.”
An entity, usually animate, deemed superior to another
An entity, usually animate, deemed superior to another; one who has a claim to precedence; a superior.
- He quickly found Ali his better in the ring.
- Their betters would hardly be found.
Had better.
- It's getting late. You better get on home.
- Nobody better hurt any of my kids.
- Nothing better've happened to the guitar I lent you!
To improve.
- This government will better our society.
- Love betters what is best.
- He thought to better his circumstances.
To become better
To become better; to improve.
To surpass in excellence
To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
- The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered.
To give advantage to
To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
- Weapons more violent, when next we meet, / May serve to better us and worse our foes.
Alternative spelling of bettor.
The neighborhood
Derived
against one's better judgment, all to the better, an ounce of prevention is better than an ounce of cure, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, are you feeling better, better and better, better an egg today than a hen tomorrow, better angels, better angels of one's nature, better angels of someone's nature, better ball, better Dead than Red, better for it, betterfy, better half, betterhood, betterish, better is the enemy of good, better-known, better known as, better late than never, better light, better luck next time, better nature, betterness, better off, better one word in time than two afterwards, better-paid, better part of, better place, better safe than sorry, bettership, bettersome, better than a kick in the teeth, better than a poke in the eye, better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick, better than a poke in the eye with a rusty nail, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, better than a poke in the eye with a shitty stick, better than nothing · +53 more
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at better. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at better. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
10 hops · closes at better
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA