The verb batten is used in variations of the phrase " batten down the hatches," which means "to prepare for a difficult or dangerous situation." It winds back to Latin battuere, meaning "to beat."

A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood [1] but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields.

Phrasal verb batten on someone (Definition of batten from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

(usually foll by: on) to thrive, esp at the expense of someone else: to batten on the needy.

A batten is a long strip of wood that is fixed to something to strengthen it or to hold it firm. ...a batten to support the base timbers.

Dec 14, 2025 · batten (plural battens) (carpentry, construction) A plank or strip of wood, or several of such strips arranged side by side, used in construction to hold members of a structure …

Sep 25, 2023 · Learn about wood board and batten house siding history and modern takes like vinyl board and batten siding and fiber cement board and batten siding.

Definition of batten noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

BATTEN definition: to thrive by feeding; grow fat. See examples of batten used in a sentence.

There are six meanings listed in OED's entry for the verb batten, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.