Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

batten down

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English

Syllables
bat-ten -down
IPA
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To close or make watertight, referring to hatches and cargo.

verb

To secure.

Transitive verb

verb

To prepare for adversity.

Intransitive verb

Usage

Inflected Forms

battens down (present, singular) battening down (participle, present) battened down (participle, past) battened down (past)

Phrases

batten down the hatches

Synonyms

batten secure

Questions

What does batten down mean?
To close or make watertight, referring to hatches and cargo.

How to pronounce batten down

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “batten down”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “batten down”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “batten down” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.