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, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English better, bettre, betre, from Old English betera (“better”), from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *batizô (“better”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed-rós, from *bʰed- (“good”).
Cognate with Sanskrit भद्र (bhadrá, “blessed, fortunate, happy, good”) (from *bʰn̥d-ró-s). For Germanic cognates: see Proto-Germanic *batizô. Related to best and battle (“getting better, improving, fruitful, fertile”). Compare also Icelandic batna (“to improve”), bót (“improvement”), German besser. More at batten, boot.
Persian بهتر (behtar) is a false cognate.
Adjective
better (positive good, adverb well, comparative (humorous) betterer, superlative (humorous) betterest, or (standard) best)
- comparative degree of good
2002 November 1, “Shindig”, in Firefly, episode 4:Badger: You think you're better than other people.
Mal: Just the ones I'm better than.
- comparative degree of well
- Greater in amount or quantity
1972, Harvey Andrews, Hey Sandy:“The air was still with the lonely thrill of 'now the hour is near'
And the smell of sweat was better yet than the awful stench of fear.”
- Greater or lesser (whichever is seen as more advantageous), in reference to value, distance, time, etc.
The top electric vehicles have a range of 300 kilometres or better. (better = greater)
Only one swimmer finished the race with a time better than two minutes. (better = lesser)
- Healed or recovered from an injury or illness.
We can't go to the zoo today because you're sick; let's go when you're all better.
Derived terms
Translations
comparative of the adjectives good or well
- Alviri-Vidari:
- Vidari: ودرتر (vaderter)
- Arabic: أَفْضَل (ʔafḍal), أَحْسَن (ʔaḥsan)
- Armenian: ավելի լավ (aveli lav)
- Assamese: -কৈ ভাল (-koi bhal)
- Basque: hobe
- Belarusian: ле́пшы (ljépšy)
- Bengali: আরও ভাল (arō bhalo), আফজল (bn) (afjol)
- Breton: gwell (br), gwelloc'h (br)
- Bulgarian: по-добър (po-dobǎr)
- Catalan: millor (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 更好 (gèng hǎo), 比較好的/比较好的 (bǐjiào hǎo de), 較好的/较好的 (jiào hǎo de)
- Cornish: gwell
- Czech: lepší (cs)
- Danish: bedre
- Dutch: beter (nl)
- Esperanto: pli bona
- Estonian: parem
- Faroese: betri
- Finnish: parempi (fi)
- French: meilleur (fr)
- Friulian: miôr
- Galician: mellor (gl)
- Georgian: უკეთესი (uḳetesi), უმჯობესი (umǯobesi)
- German: besser (de)
- Gothic: 𐌱𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌶𐌰 (batiza)
- Greek: καλύτερος (el) m (kalýteros)
- Ancient: βελτίων (beltíōn), κρείσσων (kreíssōn), καλλίων (kallíōn), βέλτερος (bélteros) (Epic)
- Hindi: बेहतर (hi) (behtar)
- Hungarian: jobb (hu)
- Icelandic: betri (is)
- Ido: plu bona (io), maxim (io)
- Interlingua: melior
- Irish: níos fearr
- Italian: migliore (it), meglio (it)
- Japanese: もっといい (motto ii), より良い (yoriyoi)
- Karelian: parempi
- Korean: 더 좋은 (deo jo'eun)
- Kurdish:
- Northern Kurdish: baştir (ku)
- Ladin: miec
- Latin: melior (la), potior
- Macedonian: подобар (podobar)
- Malay: lebih baik, lebih bagus
- Neapolitan: meglio
- Norman: miyeu
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: bedre (no)
- Nynorsk: betre
- Occitan: melhor (oc)
- Old English: betera
- Persian: بِهتَر (fa) (behtar), بختر (bextar) (dialectal)
- Plautdietsch: bäta
- Polish: lepszy (pl) m
- Portuguese: melhor (pt)
- Romani: feder
- Romanian: mai bun, mai bine
- Romansch: meglier
- Russian: лу́чше (ru) (lúčše), лу́чший (ru) (lúčšij)
- Sanskrit: श्रेयस् (sa) (śreyas)
- Sardinian: megnus, mellus
- Scottish Gaelic: nas fheàrr
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: бо̏ље̄
- Roman: bȍljē (sh), bolji (sh) m
- Sicilian: megghiu (scn)
- Slovak: lepší
- Slovene: bóljši (sl)
- Spanish: mejor (es)
- Swahili: bora (sw)
- Swedish: bättre (sv)
- Thai: ดีกว่า (th)
- Turkish: daha iyi
- Ukrainian: кра́щий (kráščyj), лі́пший (lípšyj)
- Urdu: بہتر (behtar)
- Venetian: mejo
- Veps: paremba
- Vietnamese: tốt hơn, khá hơn; khoẻ hơn (comparative form of "well", as in "healthier")
- Volapük: gudikum
- Võro: parõmb
- Walloon: meyeu (wa)
- Welsh: gwell (cy)
- Yakut: бэт (bet)
- Yiddish: בעסער (beser)
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Adverb
better
- comparative degree of well
The engine runs better now that I've given it some oil.
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:I could never better stead thee than now. […]
- (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) (colloquial shortening) Had better.
You better do that if you know what's good for you.
Derived terms
Translations
comparative of the adverb well
Noun
better (plural betters)
- An entity, usually animate, deemed superior to another; one who has a claim to precedence; a superior.
- He quickly found Ali his better in the ring.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Shortening of had better ('d better)
Verb
better
- (modal, auxiliary verb, colloquial) Had better.
It's getting late. You better get on home.
Usage notes
- Better in this sense has often been considered an adverb. But it is virtually synonymous with should in We better be going. and with ought to in We better go. Should and ought are auxiliary verbs.
See also
Etymology 3
From Middle English beteren, from Old English beterian, betrian, from Proto-Germanic *batizōną. Cognate with West Frisian betterje (“to better”), Dutch beteren (“to better”), German bessern (“to better”), Danish bedre (“to better”), Swedish bättra (“to better”).
Verb
better (third-person singular simple present betters, present participle bettering, simple past and past participle bettered)
- (transitive) To improve.
This government will better this society
- (intransitive) To become better; to improve.
- (transitive) To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, , London: Will Stansby , published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered.
- (transitive) To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC:Weapons more violent, when next we meet, / May serve to better us and worse our foes.
Conjugation
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 4
Alternative spelling of bettor or modern formation from the verb to bet.
Noun
better (plural betters)
- Alternative spelling of bettor
References
Central Franconian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old High German bittar.
Pronunciation
Adjective
better (masculine bettere, feminine better, comparative betterer, superlative et betterste)
- (most dialects) bitter
- Proverb: Mösse es e better Krock. ― To be obliged is a bitter herb.
Middle English
Etymology 1
Adjective
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Adverb
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Noun
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Etymology 2
Verb
better
- Alternative form of beteren
Scots
Etymology
From Middle English bettre, from Old English betera.
Pronunciation
Adjective
better
- comparative degree of guid
Derived terms
Adverb
better (comparative mair better, superlative maist better)
- better
- quite recovered from illness
- more than
Noun
better (uncountable)
- that which is better, something better or superior
Verb
better (third-person singular simple present betters, present participle betterin, simple past bettert, past participle bettert)
- to better, improve
West Frisian
Adjective
better
- inflection of goed:
- predicative comparative degree
- indefinite neuter singular comparative degree