better

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈbɛt.ə/, SAMPA: /"bEt.@/
• (Australia) IPA: /ˈbet.ə/, SAMPA: /"bet.@/
• (GenAm) IPA: /ˈbɛɾ.ɚ/, SAMPA: /"bEr.@`/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtə(r)
• Hyphenation: bet‧ter

Etymology 1

From Middle English better, bettre, from Old English betera (“better”), from Proto-Germanic *batizô (“better”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhAd- (“good”). Cognate with Sanskrit  (bhadrá, “blessed, fortunate, happy, good”). For Germanic cognates: see Proto-Germanic *batizô. Verb is from Middle English beteren, from Old English beterian (“to make better, improve”). Related to best. Compare also Icelandic batna (“to improve”), Icelandic bót (“improvement”). More at batten, boot.

Adjective

better

1. comparative form of good or well: more good or well

Derived terms

Terms derived from better (adjective)

better half better off

betterness get better

Related terms

• best

Translations

comparative of the adjectives good or well

Arabic: أفضل (ar) ('áfDal), أحسن (ar) ('áHsan) Breton: gwell, gwelloc'h Bulgarian: по-добър (bg) Chinese: Mandarin: 比較好的 (cmn), 比较好的 (cmn) (bǐjiào hǎo-de), 更好 (cmn) (gèng hǎo), 較好的 (cmn), 较好的 (cmn) (jiào hǎo-de) Croatian: bolji (hr) m., bolje (hr) Czech: lepší (cs) Danish: bedre (da) Dutch: beter (nl) Faroese: betri (fo) Finnish: parempi (fi) French: meilleur (fr) German: besser (de) Greek: καλύτερος (el) m. (kalýteros) Hindi: बेहतर (hi) (behtar) Hungarian: jobb (hu) Icelandic: betri (is) Ido: plu bona, maxim Interlingua: melior Irish: níos fearr (ga) Italian: migliore, meglio di

Japanese: もっといい (ja) (motto ii), より良い (ja) (yoriyoi) Korean: 더 좋은 (ko) (deo joheun) Latin: melior (la) Norwegian: bedre (no) Occitan: melhor (oc) Persian: بِهتَر (fa) (behtar) Polish: lepszy m. Portuguese: melhor (pt) Romanian: mai bun, mai bine (ro) Russian: лучше (ru) (lúčše) Scottish Gaelic: feàrr (gd) Slovene: boljši m., boljša f., boljše n. Spanish: mejor (es) Swahili: bora (sw) Swedish: bättre (sv) Turkish: daha iyi Urdu: بہتر (ur) (behtar) Vietnamese: tốt hơn, khá hơn; khoẻ hơn (comparative form of well, as in "healthier") Volapük: gudikum (vo) Welsh: gwell (cy)

Adverb

better

1. comparative form of well: more well
   • 1901, Louis Couperus, Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (translator), Small Souls,

     “I’ve had enough of cycling with you chaps. I can spend my Sundays better than in tormenting cats and quarrelling and fighting.”

Related terms

• best
• better than nothing
• had better
• 'd better

Translations

comparative form of the adverb well

Bulgarian: по-добре (bg) Danish: bedre (da) Dutch: beter (nl) French: mieux (fr) Hindi: (behtar) Icelandic: betur (is) Interlingua: melio Norwegian: bedre (no)

Polish: lepiej Romanian: mai bine (ro) Russian: лучше (ru) (lúčše) Slovene: bolje Spanish: mejor (es), mejores (es) pl. Swahili: bora (sw) Swedish: bättre (sv) Volapük: gudikumo (vo)

Verb

better (third-person singular simple present betters, present participle bettering, simple past and past participle bettered)

1. (transitive) To improve.

Derived terms

• betterer
• betterment

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:improve

Translations

to improve

Bulgarian: подобрявам (bg) Norwegian: forbedre (no) Persian: بهبودن (fa), بهبودی (fa) Polish: poprawiać / poprawić, polepszać / polepszyć Romanian: îmbunătăți (ro)

Spanish: mejorar (es) Swahili: bora (sw) Swedish: förbättra (sv) Welsh: gwella (cy)

Noun

better (plural betters)

1. An entity, usually animate, deemed superior to another.

   He quickly found Ali his better in the ring.

Derived terms

• get the better of

Etymology 2

Alternate pronunciation of bettor or modern formation from the verb to bet.

Noun

better (plural betters)

1. Alternative spelling of bettor.

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: going · knew · seen · #207: better · name · among · done

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West Frisian

Adjective

better

1. better