Meaning & use
battels
Last updated
Meaning
nounpluralBritishold-fashioned
the accounts or bills for meals and other living expenses at Oxford University colleges.
Grammar: Always used in the plural: pay your battels. It is a plural noun and takes a plural verb.
Patterns
- pay battels
- battels for the term
Students at Oxford used to receive their battels at the end of each term.
He had to pay his battels before he could graduate.
The college battels included charges for room and board.
Common combinations
- pay battels
- She had to pay her battels by the end of the week.
- college battels
- The college battels were higher than expected.
- battels for the term
- He checked the battels for the term to see what he owed.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: battels or battles?
battels vs battles
'Battles' are fights between armies; 'battels' are college bills. They sound similar but have very different meanings.
Practice
At Oxford University, what are 'battels'?
Choose one answer.
'Battels' refers to the bills for food and lodging at Oxford colleges. The other options are unrelated to the word's meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “battels”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.