battered

adjective

bat·​tered ˈba-tərd 

1

: damaged or worn down by hard use

a battered old hat

a battered truck

2

: injured by repeated blows

the victim's battered body

a boxer's battered face

3

: subjected to repeated physical abuse

providing help for battered wives/children

… the store turned into an impromptu women's crisis center, where battered women and mothers trying to rescue their daughters from abusive dads gravitated.

—Donna Minkowitz

Examples of battered in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Where, in a far-off future land, a rogue mechanical Robot Carnival machine wreaks havoc and destruction across a battered desert landscape. —Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025

Regardless of their present and future roles, the Yankees are confident that their newcomers will beef up a battered bullpen that entered Thursday’s win over the Rays with a 4.89 ERA since June 1. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 1 Aug. 2025

Sangare embodies the character with an appropriately battered resilience, while Lokjine and co-writer Delphine Agut hit him with challenge after challenge that feel surprising and inevitable at the same time. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 30 July 2025

Chicken Charlie’s new mozzarella meatballs on a stick is exactly just that: three tender meatballs and three pieces of mozzarella, all skewered, battered and fried golden brown. —Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 22 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing battered

• battered child syndrome
• battered woman syndrome

Rhymes for battered

• backscattered
• chattered
• clattered
• flattered
• mattered
• pattered
• scattered
• shattered
• spattered
• splattered
• tattered