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Added 4 October 2026

better

/ˈbɛt.ə/ adjective

In Latin: melior, potior Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about better at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

comparative degree of good and well
How are you? ~ A little better, thanks.
Greater in amount or quantity
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.

adverb

comparative form of well: more well
The engine runs better now that I've given it some oil.

noun

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.

verb

Had better.
It's getting late. You better get on home.

Origin

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).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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