batten - Dictionary definition and pronunciation - Yahoo! Education
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bat·ten1  audio  (btn) KEY 

VERB:
bat·tened, bat·ten·ing, bat·tens
VERB:
intr.
  1. To become fat.
  2. To thrive and prosper, especially at another's expense: "[She] battens like a leech on the lives of famous people, . . . a professional retailer of falsehoods" (George F. Will).
VERB:
tr.
To fatten; overfeed.
ETYMOLOGY:
Ultimately from Old Norse batna, to improve; see bhad- in Indo-European roots


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