fatten
/ˈfætən/verb
fatten is spelled F-A-T-T-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, fatten means “To cause (a person or animal) to be fat or fatter” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in fatten?
| Letters | 6: F-A-T-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,954th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is fatten?
Fatten appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fatten?
- /ˈfætən/
- [ˈfæʔn̩]
Fatten has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fatten.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of fatten
- fattens present, singular, he/she/it
- fattening participle, present
- fattened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fatten mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause (a person or animal) to be fat or fatter.
We must fatten the turkey in time for Thanksgiving.
- 2
To become fat or fatter.
He gradually fattened in the five years after getting married.
- 3
To make thick or thicker (often something containing paper, especially money).
- 4
To become thick or thicker.
- 5
To make (soil) fertile and fruitful.
to fatten land
- 6
To become fertile and fruitful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fatten in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | engraisser , grossir |
| German | mästen , dick werden, dicker werden, fett werden, sich mästen, zunehmen |
| Portuguese | engordar, cevar |
| Spanish | engordar, cebar , cebarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fatten come from?
From fat + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).