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

In the picture, baby Elvis is wearing a battered but jaunty felt hat, the sunshine center of a family that also, at the beginning, had nothing. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 20 Feb. 2026

For example, before the collision Titan may have been more like Jupiter's icy, airless moon Callisto, with an ancient and battered surface. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2026

Legal concerns and investment risks Despite the potential benefits, Ochoa warned that some legal provisions could discourage investment at a time when Venezuela is trying to rebuild its battered oil sector. —Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2026

His battered body was found the next morning about a mile south, on the 5500 block of West Vliet Street. —Chris Ramirez, jsonline.com, 16 Feb. 2026

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