batten
/ˈbæt(ə)n/
"batten" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“batten” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,697. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #39,697
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause (an animal, etc.) to become fat or thrive through plenteous feeding; to fatten.
Corpus desk
Index EN-batten · batten · English
batten · rank #39,697 · 7 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #39,697
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 7 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH barf
Nearest frequency peer: barf (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “batten”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- balsamic
balsamic
60,307 corpus weight
- barf
barf
60,305 corpus weight
- batten
batten
60,304 corpus weight
- beaks
beaks
60,303 corpus weight
- beefy
beefy
60,302 corpus weight
- benchmarking
benchmarking
60,301 corpus weight
What this shows “batten” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | batten |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈbæt(ə)n/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #39,697 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “batten”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 7 spelling variants around batten (IPA /ˈbæt(ə)n/), averb. Corpus frequency is #39,697 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for batten, with forms such as "abtten", "baten", and "batetn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Bette", "butte", "batty", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English *battenen, *batnen, of North Germanic origin, probably from Old Norse batna (“to grow better, improve, recover”), from Proto-Germanic *batnaną (“to become better, improve”) (compare Old Norse bati (“advantage, improve… The correct English form is batten, spelled B-A-T-T-E-N.
Definition
- 1To cause (an animal, etc.) to become fat or thrive through plenteous feeding; to fatten.
- 2To enrich or fertilize (land, soil, etc.).
- 3To become better; to improve in condition; especially of animals, by feeding; to fatten up.
- 4Of land, soil, etc.: to become fertile; also, of plants: to grow lush.
- 5Followed by on: to eat greedily; to glut.
- 6Followed by on: to prosper or thrive, especially at the expense of others.
- 7To gloat at; to revel in.
- 8To gratify a morbid appetite or craving.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how batten appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
VVe drove a field, and both together heard / VVhat time the Gray-fly vvinds her ſultry horn, / Batt'ning our flocks vvith the freſh devvs of night, […]
[O]thers [i.e., rivers] ariſing and running thorovv this Shire, doe ſo batten the ground, that the Medovves euen in the midſt of VVinter grovv greene; […]
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English *battenen, *batnen, of North Germanic origin, probably from Old Norse batna (“to grow better, improve, recover”), from Proto-Germanic *batnaną (“to become better, improve”) (compare Old Norse bati (“advantage, improvement”), from Proto-Germanic *batô (“improvement, recovery”)), from *bataz (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed- (“good”). Compare battle (“(adjective) improving; fattening, nutritious; fertile, fruitful; (verb) to feed or nourish; to render (land, etc.) fertile or fruitful”) (obsolete). The adjective is probably derived from the verb. Cognates * Dutch baten (“to avail, benefit, profit”) * Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌽𐌰𐌽 (gabatnan, “to benefit, profit”) * Icelandic batna (“to improve, recover”) * Old English batian (“to get better, recover”)
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- abtten
- baten
- batetn
- battenn
- battne
- bbatten
- btaten
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of batten - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "batten"?
What does "batten" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "batten"?
How do you pronounce "batten"?
What is the origin of the word "batten"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "batten", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).