Meanings
better1
positive good · adverb well · comparative humorous betterer · superlative best · humorous betterest
- 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.
- comparativecomparative form of well: more well
The engine runs better now that I've given it some oil.
2 more examples
I could never better stead thee than now.[…]
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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]“I’ve had enough of cycling with you chaps. I can spend my Sundays better than in tormenting cats and quarrelling and fighting.”
1901, Louis Couperus, translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos, Small Souls
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.
1 more example
Their betters would hardly be found.
[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)
better2
- auxiliarycolloquialmodalHad better.
Nobody better hurt any of my kids.
2 more examples
It's getting late. You better get on home.
Nothing better've happened to the guitar I lent you!
better3
present singular third person betters · participle present bettering · participle past bettered · past bettered · first person past singular bettered · past second person singular bettered · present singular third person betters · past singular third person bettered · past plural bettered · past subjunctive bettered · participle present bettering · participle past bettered
- transitiveTo improve.
This government will better our society.
5 more examples
attempts to better the lot of the refugees
They tried to better themselves by attaining a good education.
Love betters what is best.
1815, William Wordsworth, From the same (To the Supreme Being)He thought to better his circumstances.
1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 2, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLCthe constant effort of every man to better himself
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter III, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC - intransitiveTo become better; to improve.
- transitiveTo surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel; to improve on.
He summed the whole thing up in a way that I couldn't possibly better.
1 more example
The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered.
[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)Synonyms: top
- transitiveTo give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
Weapons more violent, when next we meet, / May serve to better us and worse our foes.
1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC
better4
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel; to improve on.
More synonyms by meaning
adjective(comparative of ‘good’) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
adjective(comparative of ‘good’) changed for the better in health or fitness
adjective(comparative and superlative of ‘well’) wiser or more advantageous and hence advisable
adjectivemore than half
adverbfrom a position of superiority or authority
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
better · adjective, adverb, noun
- Proto-Germanic*batiz
- Proto-Germanic*batizô
- Proto-West Germanic*batiʀō
- Old Englishbetera
- Middle Englishbettre
- Englishbetter
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 Dutch beter, German besser, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål bedre, Norwegian Nynorsk betre, Swedish bättre, Faroese and Icelandic betri. Also Sanskrit भ॒द्र (bhadrá, “blessed; fortunate; happy; good”) (from *bʰn̥d-ró-s). Related to best and battle (“getting better; improving; fruitful; fertile”). Compare also Icelandic batna (“to improve”), bót (“improvement”), German besser. More at batten, boot. False cognate of Persian بهتر (behtar).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →better · verb
- Proto-Germanic*batiz
- Proto-Germanic*batizô
- Proto-Germanic*batizōną
- Old Englishbeterian
- Middle Englishbeteren
- Englishbetter
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”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →better · noun
Alternative spelling of bettor or modern formation from the verb to bet + -er.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek βελτίων, κρείσσων
- βελτίων (beltíōn)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- κρείσσων (kreíssōn)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- καλλίων (kallíōn)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- βέλτερος (bélteros)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Arabic أَفْضَل, أَحْسَن
- أَفْضَل (ʔafḍal)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- أَحْسَن (ʔaḥsan)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- حَسَّنَ (ḥassana)to improve
- تَحَسَّنَ (taḥassana)to become better
Basque hobe
- hobecomparative of the adjectives good or well
Bengali আরও ভাল, আফজল
- আরও ভাল (arō bhalo)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- আফজল (afjol)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Bulgarian по-добър, по-добре
- по-добър (po-dobăr)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- по-добре (po-dobre)comparative of the adverb well
- подобрявам (podobrjavam)to improve
Catalan millor, millorar
- millorcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- millorarto improve
Chinese Mandarin 更好, 比較好的 /比较好的
- 更好 (gèng hǎo)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- 比較好的 /比较好的 (bǐjiào hǎo de)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- 較好的 /较好的 (jiào hǎo de)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Czech lepší, lépe
- lepšícomparative of the adjectives good or well
- lépecomparative of the adverb well
- lípcomparative of the adverb well
Danish bedre, bedre
- bedrecomparative of the adjectives good or well
- bedrecomparative of the adverb well
Dutch beter, beter
- betercomparative of the adjectives good or well
- betercomparative of the adverb well
Esperanto pli bona, pli bone
- pli bonacomparative of the adjectives good or well
- pli bonecomparative of the adverb well
- plibonigito improve
Estonian parem
- paremcomparative of the adjectives good or well
Finnish parempi, paremmin
- parempicomparative of the adjectives good or well
- paremmincomparative of the adverb well
- parantaato improve
French meilleur, mieux
- meilleurcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- mieuxcomparative of the adverb well
- améliorerto improve
German besser, besser
- bessercomparative of the adjectives good or well
- bessercomparative of the adverb well
- verbessernto improve
Greek καλύτερος, καλύτερα
- καλύτερος (kalýteros)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- καλύτερα (kalýtera)comparative of the adverb well
- κάλλιο (kállio)comparative of the adverb well
Hindi बेहतर
- बेहतर (behtar)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Hungarian jobb, jobban
- jobbcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- jobbancomparative of the adverb well
Icelandic betri, betur
- betricomparative of the adjectives good or well
- beturcomparative of the adverb well
Indonesian lebih baik
- lebih baikcomparative of the adjectives good or well
Irish níos fearr
- níos fearrcomparative of the adjectives good or well
Italian migliore, meglio
- migliorecomparative of the adjectives good or well
- megliocomparative of the adjectives good or well
- megliocomparative of the adverb well
- migliorareto improve
Japanese もっといい, より良い
- もっといいcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- より良い (yoriyoi)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Korean 더 좋은
- 더 좋은 (deo jo'eun)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Latin melior, potior
- meliorcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- potiorcomparative of the adjectives good or well
Latvian labāk
- labākcomparative of the adverb well
Malay lebih baik, lebih bagus
- lebih baikcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- lebih baguscomparative of the adjectives good or well
Norwegian bedre, forbedre
- bedrecomparative of the adverb well
- forbedreto improve
Norwegian Bokmål bedre
- bedrecomparative of the adjectives good or well
Persian بِهتَر, بختر
- بِهتَر (behtar)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- بختر (bextar)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- بهبودنto improve
- بهبودیto improve
Polish lepszy, lepiej
- lepszycomparative of the adjectives good or well
- lepiejcomparative of the adverb well
- poprawiaćto improve
- poprawićto improve
- polepszaćto improve
- polepszyćto improve
Portuguese melhor, melhor
- melhorcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- melhorcomparative of the adverb well
- melhorarto improve
Romanian mai bun, mai bine
- mai buncomparative of the adjectives good or well
- mai binecomparative of the adjectives good or well
- mai binecomparative of the adverb well
- mai buncomparative of the adverb well
- îmbunătățito improve
Russian лу́чше, лу́чший
- лу́чше (lúčše)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- лу́чший (lúčšij)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- лу́чше (lúčše)comparative of the adverb well
- улучша́ть (ulučšátʹ)to improve
- улу́чшить (ulúčšitʹ)to improve
- улучша́ться (ulučšátʹsja)to become better
- улу́чшиться (ulúčšitʹsja)to become better
- превосходи́ть (prevosxodítʹ)to surpass in excellence
- превзойти́ (prevzojtí)to surpass in excellence
Scottish Gaelic nas fheàrr
- nas fheàrrcomparative of the adjectives good or well
Slovak lepší, lepšie
- lepšícomparative of the adjectives good or well
- lepšiecomparative of the adverb well
- zlepšiťto improve
- vylepšiťto improve
Spanish mejor, mejor
- mejorcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- mejorcomparative of the adverb well
- mejorescomparative of the adverb well
- mejorarto improve
Swahili bora, bora
- boracomparative of the adjectives good or well
- boracomparative of the adverb well
- borato improve
Swedish bättre, bättre
- bättrecomparative of the adjectives good or well
- bättrecomparative of the adverb well
- förbättrato improve
Thai ดีกว่า
- ดีกว่า (dii-gwàa)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Turkish daha iyi, daha iyi
- daha iyicomparative of the adjectives good or well
- daha iyicomparative of the adverb well
- yakşırakcomparative of the adverb well
Ukrainian кра́щий, лі́пший
- кра́щий (kráščyj)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- лі́пший (lípšyj)comparative of the adjectives good or well
- кра́ще (krášče)comparative of the adverb well
- лі́пше (lípše)comparative of the adverb well
Urdu بہتر
- بہتر (behtar)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Vietnamese tốt hơn, khá hơn
- tốt hơncomparative of the adjectives good or well
- khá hơncomparative of the adjectives good or well
- khoẻ hơncomparative of the adjectives good or well
Welsh gwell, gwella
- gwellcomparative of the adjectives good or well
- gwellato improve
Yiddish בעסער
- בעסער (beser)comparative of the adjectives good or well
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with better
Cite this entry
better. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/better
“better.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/better. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “better,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/better.
Source: better on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.