Meaning & use
batten
Last updated
To secure or fasten something firmly, especially in preparation for bad weather; also, a long strip of wood or metal used to strengthen or fasten something.
See it in a sentence
The crew battened down the hatches before the storm hit the harbor.
Workers nailed a wooden batten across the broken window to keep out the rain.
A note on using this word
Almost always appears in the phrase 'batten down the hatches,' now used figuratively to mean preparing for any kind of trouble.
Words with a similar meaning
securefasten
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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