better
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (non-rhotic accents) IPA(key): /ˈbɛtə/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): [ˈbɛtʰə]
- (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): [ˈbeɾə]
- (UK dialects) IPA(key): [ˈbeʔə]
- (rhotic accents) IPA(key): /ˈbɛtəɹ/
- (US)
(file) - Rhymes: -ɛtə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: bet‧ter
Etymology 1[edit]
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 Sanskrit भद्र (bhadrá, “blessed, fortunate, happy, good”). For Germanic cognates: see Proto-Germanic *batizô. Related to best and battle (“getting better, improving, fruitful, fertile”). Compare also Icelandic batna (“to improve”), bót (“improvement”), German besser. More at batten, boot.
Adjective[edit]
better (positive good, adverb well, comparative (humorous) betterer, superlative (humorous) betterest, or (standard) best)
- comparative form of good: more good
- comparative form of well: more well
- Greater in amount or quantity
- 1972, Harvey Andrews, Hey Sandy
- “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.”
- “The air was still with the lonely thrill of 'now the hour is near'
- 1972, Harvey Andrews, Hey Sandy
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Adverb[edit]
better
- comparative form of well: more well
- The engine runs better now that I've given it some oil.
- c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iii]:
- I could never better stead thee than now. […]
- 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.”
- 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. (better = greater)
- Only one swimmer finished the race with a time better than two minutes. (better = lesser)
- (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) (colloquial shortening) Had better.
- You better do that if you know what's good for you.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Noun[edit]
better (plural betters)
- 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.
- 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, J[ohn] S[penser], editor, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, OCLC 931154958, (please specify the page):
- Their betters would hardly be found.
Derived terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Shortening of had better ('d better)
Verb[edit]
better
- (modal, auxiliary verb, colloquial) Had better.
- It's getting late. You better get on home.
Usage notes[edit]
- Better in this sense has often been considered an adverb. But it is virtually synonymous with should in We better be going. and with ought to in We better go. Should and ought are auxiliary verbs.
See also[edit]
Etymology 3[edit]
From Middle English beteren, from Old English beterian, betrian, from Proto-Germanic *batizōną. Cognate with West Frisian betterje (“to better”), Dutch beteren (“to better”), German bessern (“to better”), Danish bedre (“to better”), Swedish bättra (“to better”).
Verb[edit]
better (third-person singular simple present betters, present participle bettering, simple past and past participle bettered)
- (transitive) To improve.
- 1815, William Wordsworth, From the same (To the Supreme Being)
- Love betters what is best.
- 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 2, in Vanity Fair. A Novel without a Hero, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, OCLC 3174108:
- He thought to better his circumstances.
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 3, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, OCLC 1069526323:
- the constant effort of every man to better himself
- 1815, William Wordsworth, From the same (To the Supreme Being)
- (intransitive) To become better; to improve.
- This government will better this society
- (transitive) To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
- 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, J[ohn] S[penser], editor, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, OCLC 931154958, (please specify the page):
- The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered.
- (transitive) To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book 6”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- Weapons more violent, when next we meet, / May serve to better us and worse our foes.
Synonyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:improve
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 4[edit]
Alternate spelling of bettor or modern formation from the verb to bet.
Noun[edit]
better (plural betters)
- Alternative spelling of bettor
References[edit]
- better at OneLook Dictionary Search
- “better” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Central Franconian[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old High German bittar
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
better (masculine bettere, feminine better, comparative betterer, superlative et betterste)
- (most dialects) bitter
- Proverb: Mösse es e better Krock. ― To be obliged is a bitter herb.
- Proverb:
Middle English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Adjective[edit]
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Adverb[edit]
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Noun[edit]
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Etymology 2[edit]
Verb[edit]
better
- Alternative form of beteren
Scots[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English bettre, from Old English betera.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
better
Derived terms[edit]
- better-faured (“better-featured, better-looking”)
- bettermaist (“better-class”)
- betterment (“improvement”)
- betterness (“recovery”)
- the better o that (“the better for that”)
Adverb[edit]
better (comparative mair better, superlative maist better)
Noun[edit]
better (uncountable)
- that which is better, something better or superior
Verb[edit]
better (third-person singular simple present betters, present participle betterin, simple past bettert, past participle bettert)
West Frisian[edit]
Adjective[edit]
better
- inflection of goed:
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛtə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɛtə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
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- English colloquialisms
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English auxiliary verbs
- English defective verbs
- English irregular verbs
- English modal verbs
- en:Betting
- Central Franconian terms inherited from Old High German
- Central Franconian terms derived from Old High German
- Central Franconian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Central Franconian lemmas
- Central Franconian adjectives
- Central Franconian terms with usage examples
- Middle English non-lemma forms
- Middle English adjective forms
- Middle English adverb forms
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English verbs
- Scots terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Scots terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Scots terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Scots terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Scots terms inherited from Middle English
- Scots terms derived from Middle English
- Scots terms inherited from Old English
- Scots terms derived from Old English
- Scots terms with IPA pronunciation
- Scots non-lemma forms
- Scots comparative adjectives
- Scots lemmas
- Scots adverbs
- Scots nouns
- Scots uncountable nouns
- Scots verbs
- West Frisian non-lemma forms
- West Frisian adjective forms