batten
/ˈbæt(ə)n/
"batten" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“batten” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #39,697 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #39,697
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cause (an animal, etc.) to become fat or thrive through plenteous feeding; to fatten.
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) |
Where “batten” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for batten is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbæt(ə)n/. Corpus data places it at rank #39,697 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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.
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
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Using “batten”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-T-T-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbæt(ə)n/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Bette” - see the side-by-side comparison. batten vs Bette
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.