better

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• betta
• bettuh

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛtə/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈbɛtɚ/, [ˈbɛɾɚ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈbetə(ɹ)/, [ˈbeɾə(ɹ)]
• Rhymes: -ɛtə(r)
• Hyphenation: bet‧ter

Etymology 1

From Middle English better, bettre, betre, from Old English betera ‎(“better”), from Proto-Germanic *batizô ‎(“better”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhAd- ‎(“good”). Cognate with Sanskrit भद्र ‎(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 and battle ‎(“getting better, improving, fruitful, fertile”). Compare also Icelandic batna ‎(“to improve”), Icelandic bót ‎(“improvement”). More at batten, boot.

Adjective

better

1. comparative form of good: more good
   • 2002 November 1, “Shindig”, in Firefly, episode 4:

     Badger: You think you're better than other people.
     Mal: Just the ones I'm better than.

2. comparative form of well: more well

Derived terms

Terms derived from better (adjective)

better angels better dead than red better half betterness better off better part of

bettership better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick better than nothing get better know better make a better door than a window

Related terms

• best

Translations

comparative of the adjectives good or well

• Alviri-Vidari:

  Vidari: ودرتر ‎(vaderter)

• Arabic: أَفْضَل ‎(ʾafḍal), أَحْسَن ‎(ʾaḥsan)
• Armenian: ավելի լավ ‎(aveli lav)
• Basque: hobe
• Breton: gwell (br), gwelloc'h (br)
• Bulgarian: по-добър ‎(po-dobǎr)
• Catalan: millor (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 比較好的, 比较好的 ‎(bǐjiào hǎo-de), 更好 (zh) ‎(gèng hǎo), 較好的, 较好的 ‎(jiào hǎo-de)

• Czech: lepší (cs)
• Danish: bedre
• Dutch: beter (nl)
• Esperanto: pli bona
• Estonian: parem
• Faroese: betri
• Finnish: parempi (fi)
• French: meilleur (fr)
• Friulian: miôr
• Galician: mellor
• Georgian: უკეთესი ‎(uḳetesi), უმჯობესი ‎(umǯobesi)
• German: besser (de)
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌶𐌰 ‎(batiza)
• Greek: καλύτερος (el) m ‎(kalýteros) (kalýteros)
• Hindi: बेहतर (hi) ‎(behtar)
• Hungarian: jobb (hu)
• Icelandic: betri (is)
• Ido: plu bona (io), maxim (io)
• Interlingua: melior
• Irish: níos fearr
• Italian: migliore (it), meglio (it)
• Japanese: もっといい ‎(motto ii), より良い ‎(yoriyoi)
• Norman: miyeu
• Karelian: parempi
• Korean: 더 좋은 ‎(deo joheun)
• Ladin: miec
• Latin: melior

• Lojban: xauzma
• Macedonian: подобар ‎(pódobar)
• Malay: lebih baik, lebih bagus
• Neapolitan: meglio
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bedre (no)

  Nynorsk: betre

• Occitan: melhor (oc)
• Persian: بِهتَر (fa) ‎(behtar), بختر ‎(bextar) (dialectal)
• Polish: lepszy (pl) m
• Portuguese: melhor (pt)
• Romanian: mai bun, mai bine
• Romansch: meglier
• Russian: лу́чше (ru) ‎(lúčše)
• Sardinian: megnus, mellus
• Scottish Gaelic: feàrr
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бо̏ље̄

  Roman: bȍljē (sh), bolji (sh) m

• Sicilian: megghiu (scn)
• Slovak: lepší
• Slovene: bóljši (sl)
• Spanish: mejor (es)
• Swahili: bora (sw)
• Swedish: bättre (sv)
• Thai: ดีกว่า
• Turkish: daha iyi
• Ukrainian: ліпше ‎(lípše)
• Urdu: بہتر ‎(behtar)
• Venetian: mejo
• Veps: paremba
• Vietnamese: tốt hơn, khá hơn; khoẻ hơn (comparative form of well, as in "healthier")
• Volapük: gudikum
• Võro: parõmb
• Welsh: gwell (cy)
• Yakut: бэт ‎(bet)
• Yiddish: בעסער ‎(beser)

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.”

2. More, in reference to value, distance, time, etc.

   ten miles and better

Derived terms

• better the devil you know
• had better
• 'd better

Related terms

• best

Translations

comparative form of the adverb well

• Armenian: ավելի լավ ‎(aveli lav)
• Bulgarian: по-добре ‎(po-dobre)
• Danish: bedre
• Dutch: beter (nl)
• French: mieux (fr)
• Friulian: miei, miôr
• Georgian: ჯობს ‎(ǯobs), ჯობია (ka) ‎(ǯobia)
• German: besser (de)
• Greek: καλύτερα (el) ‎(kalýtera), κάλλιο (el) ‎(kállio) (literary)
• Hindi: (behtar)
• Icelandic: betur (is)
• Interlingua: melio
• Italian: meglio (it)
• Ngazidja Comorian: ndro raha

• Norwegian: bedre (no)
• Polish: lepiej (pl)
• Portuguese: melhor (pt)
• Romanian: mai bine
• Russian: лу́чше (ru) ‎(lúčše)
• Slovene: bólje, bóljše
• Spanish: mejor (es), mejores (es) pl
• Swahili: bora (sw)
• Swedish: bättre (sv)
• Volapük: gudikumo

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To improve.
   • Wordsworth

     Love betters what is best.

   • Thackeray

     He thought to better his circumstances.

   • Macaulay

     the constant effort of every man to better himself

2. (intransitive) To become better; to improve.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Carlyle to this entry?)

3. (transitive) To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
   • Hooker

     The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered.

4. (transitive) To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
   • Milton

     Weapons more violent, when next we meet, / May serve to better us and worse our foes.

5. (slang) Had better.

   You better do that if you know what's good for you.

Derived terms

• betterer
• betterment

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:improve

Translations

to improve

• Bulgarian: подобрявам (bg) ‎(podobrjavam)
• Catalan: millorar (ca)
• Esperanto: plibonigi
• Friulian: miorâ
• Georgian: გაუმჯობესება ‎(gaumǯobeseba), გამოსწორება ‎(gamosc̣oreba)
• Italian: migliorare (it)
• Norwegian: forbedre (no)
• Persian: بهبودن, بهبودی (fa)
• Polish: poprawiać / poprawić, polepszać / polepszyć

• Portuguese: melhorar (pt)
• Romanian: îmbunătăți (ro)
• Spanish: mejorar (es)
• Swahili: bora (sw)
• Swedish: förbättra (sv)
• Volapük: gudükumön (vo)
• Welsh: gwella (cy)

Noun

better ‎(plural betters)

1. 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.

   • Hooker

     Their betters would hardly be found.

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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Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• botter, bötter (Eifel)

Etymology

From Old High German bittar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbetʌ/

Adjective

better ‎(masculine bettere, feminine better, comparative betterer, superlative et betterste)

1. (most dialects) bitter

   Mösse es e better Krock.

   To be obliged is a bitter herb. (A proverb.)

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Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɛtər]

Adjective

better

1. comparative degree of guid

Derived terms

Derived terms

better-faured ‎(“better-featured, better-looking”) bettermaist ‎(“better-class”) betterment ‎(“improvement”)

betterness ‎(“recovery”) the better o that ‎(“the better for that”)

Adverb

better ‎(comparative mair better, superlative maist better)

1. better
2. quite recovered from illness
3. more than

Noun

better ‎(uncountable)

1. that which is better, something better or superior

Verb

better ‎(third-person singular present betters, present participle betterin, past bettert, past participle bettert)

1. to better, improve

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West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian betera, from Proto-Germanic *batizô. Compare English better, Low German beter, Dutch beter, German besser, Danish bedre.

Adjective

better

1. better