battering

bat·ter ¹  (btr)

v. bat·tered, bat·ter·ing, bat·ters

v.tr.

1. To hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows.

2. To subject to repeated beatings or physical abuse.

3. To damage, as by heavy wear.

v.intr.

To pound repeatedly with heavy blows.

n. Printing

A damaged area on the face of type or on a plate.

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[Middle English bateren, from Old French batre, from Late Latin battere, from Latin battuere.]

Synonyms: batter¹, maim, mangle¹, maul, mutilate
These verbs mean to damage, injure, or disfigure by beating, abuse, or hard use: a house battered by a hurricane; a construction worker maimed in an accident; machinery that mangled the worker's fingers; a tent mauled by a hungry bear; mutilated the painting with a razor. See Also Synonyms at beat.

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bat·ter ²  (btr)

n. Sports

The player at bat in baseball and cricket.

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bat·ter ³  (btr)

n.

A liquid or semiliquid mixture, as of flour, milk, and eggs, used in cooking.

tr.v. bat·tered, bat·ter·ing, bat·ters

To coat in batter: battered the vegetables and then fried them.

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[Middle English bater, probably from Old French bateure, a beating, from batre, to beat; see batter¹.]

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bat·ter ⁴  (btr)

n.

A slope, as of the outer face of a wall, that recedes from bottom to top.

tr.v. bat·tered, bat·ter·ing, bat·ters

To construct so as to create an upwardly receding slope.

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[Origin unknown.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

battering - the act of subjecting to strong attack banging fighting, combat, fight, scrap - the act of fighting; any contest or struggle; "a fight broke out at the hockey game"; "there was fighting in the streets"; "the unhappy couple got into a terrible scrap"