Use battered as the past tense or past participle of batter when repeated blows, attacks, weather, or criticism cause harm.
Use battered as the past tense or past participle of batter when repeated blows, attacks, weather, or criticism cause harm.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The waves batter the seawall last night. | The waves battered the seawall last night. |
| She battered the bell once to call everyone in. | She rang the bell once to call everyone in. |
| The scandal battered with the mayor for weeks. | The scandal battered the mayor for weeks. |
Use battered for things, places, or reputations that look rough because they have taken heavy use or repeated damage.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| He drove a batter pickup to the farm. | He drove a battered pickup to the farm. |
| The battered vase was still smooth and flawless. | The old vase was still smooth and flawless. |
| The shop sells battered clothes with the tags still on. | The shop sells new clothes with the tags still on. |
Use battered carefully for physical injury or abuse, especially in legal, medical, and support contexts where the harm is repeated and serious.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| After a long meeting, the battered assistant wanted coffee. | After a long meeting, the exhausted assistant wanted coffee. |
| The report called every unhappy spouse a battered spouse. | The report used battered only for spouses subjected to physical violence. |
| He was battered from his partner for years. | He was battered by his partner for years. |
Use battered for foods dipped in batter, especially fish, sausages, vegetables, or other items cooked with a crisp coating.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The menu's battered cod had been beaten with a mallet. | The menu's battered cod was coated in batter before frying. |
| The chicken was battered with dry breadcrumbs only. | The chicken was breaded with dry breadcrumbs only. |
| They served batter onion rings with chips. | They served battered onion rings with chips. |
Use battered for a strongly informal UK sense meaning very drunk, and avoid it in formal writing unless quoting speech.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The contract states that guests may not become battered. | The contract states that guests may not become intoxicated. |
| After the marathon, she was battered but sober. | After the marathon, she was exhausted but sober. |
| He got battered by two cups of tea. | He got battered after too many pints. |
Use context to separate the past verb, the damaged or abused adjective, the cooking adjective, and the informal UK drunk sense.
He batter the door drops the -ed ending, while the food sense is often mistaken for physical damage instead of a batter coating.
From batter plus -ed. The verb batter entered Middle English from Old French batre, from Latin battuere, meaning to beat or strike. The food sense follows the cooking noun batter, a beaten mixture used for coating food.
What does battered mean?
Battered can mean hit repeatedly, worn or damaged, physically abused, coated in batter, or very drunk in informal British English.
Is battered a verb or an adjective?
It can be both. As a verb it is the past tense or past participle of batter, and as an adjective it describes condition, coating, or drunkenness.
What does battered mean in battered fish?
In battered fish, it means the fish has been coated in batter before cooking, usually frying.
Does battered always mean physically damaged?
No. It often means damaged or injured, but it can also describe food coated in batter or, in UK slang, someone very drunk.
Can battered describe a person?
Yes. It may describe someone physically injured by repeated blows or abuse, especially in phrases such as battered spouse or battered woman.
Is battered the same as damaged?
Battered is narrower than damaged when it points to repeated blows, rough use, weather, or hard treatment rather than any kind of harm.
What is a synonym for battered?
For damaged objects, worn, weathered, and beat-up often fit. For the verb sense, pounded or hammered may fit.
Where does battered come from?
Battered comes from batter plus -ed. The verb traces through Old French batre to Latin battuere, meaning to beat or strike.