What does battening mean?
"Battening" is the present participle of the verb "batten," which carries two distinct meanings. The dominant modern sense is physical: to fasten something down securely, originally by nailing long strips of wood called battens across doors, hatches, or tarps. This sense lives on chiefly in the vivid maritime idiom "batten down the hatches," meaning to prepare for an approaching storm — and, figuratively, for any impending difficulty. The second, older sense means to grow fat or flourish at another's expense, as in "companies battening on government subsidies." That usage carries strongly negative connotations of greed and exploitation and appears mostly in formal or literary prose. The word's two strands have separate origins: the fastening sense derives ultimately from Latin through Old French, while the exploitative sense comes from Old Norse via Middle English. Today you are most likely to meet "battening" in weather reports, news headlines about looming crises, or commentary on profiteering.
verb (present participle)The present participle of "batten": either to fasten or secure something firmly (as in "batten down the hatches"), or to thrive or fatten at the expense of others.
- To fasten or secure something firmly, especially by nailing a strip of wood (a batten) across it — most familiar in the idiom "batten down the hatches."
- To grow fat, prosper, or thrive greedily at the expense of others (usually "batten on" or "batten upon").
"Sailors spent the morning battening down the hatches before the storm arrived."
"Crews worked through the night battening down the hatches as the hurricane approached."
"Critics accused the landlord of battening on tenants who had nowhere else to go."
When sailors "batten down the hatches," they're nailing wooden strips called battens over the deck openings — a phrase now used whenever a storm, literal or metaphorical, is coming.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of battening
The word "batten" has two independent origins that converged in spelling. The fastening sense comes from Old French "batent," related to Latin "battuere" (to beat), and refers to the timber strips beaten or nailed across surfaces; its relatives include "baton," "battle," and "battlement." The sense of growing fat or thriving at others' expense descends from Old Norse "batna" (to improve), entering Middle English where it came to mean specifically to fatten oneself. Both senses were well established by the early modern period, and the nautical idiom "batten down the hatches" became proverbial in the age of sail.
Related word forms
How battening is actually used
The physical sense is most common today and appears almost exclusively in the fixed idiom "batten down the hatches," which is widely used figuratively to mean preparing for trouble. The older sense of exploiting others for gain survives mainly in literary and journalistic writing and always takes "on" or "upon."
Easily confused with battening
"Battering" means striking or beating someone or something repeatedly, while "battening" means fastening securely or thriving parasitically at another's expense.