better

adjective

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bet·ter | \ ˈbe-tər

Definition of better

(Entry 1 of 5)

comparative of good

1 : greater than half for the better part of an hour

2 : improved in health or mental attitude feeling better

3 : more attractive, favorable, or commendable in better circumstances

4 : more advantageous or effective a better solution

5 : improved in accuracy or performance building a better engine

better

verb

bettered; bettering; betters

Definition of better (Entry 2 of 5)

transitive verb

1 : to make better (see better entry 1): such as

a : to make more tolerable or acceptable trying to better the lot of slum dwellers

b : to make more complete or perfect looked forward to bettering her acquaintance with the new neighbors

2 : to surpass in excellence : excel bettered his personal record by nearly three seconds

intransitive verb

: to become better … must be bettering instead of worsening.— Thomas Carlyle

better

adverb

Definition of better (Entry 3 of 5)

comparative of well

1a : in a more excellent manner sings better than I do

b : to greater advantage : preferably some things are better left unsaid

2a : to a higher or greater degree he knows the story better than you do

b : more it is better than nine miles to the next town

better

noun

Definition of better (Entry 4 of 5)

1a : something better (see better entry 1) I expected better from them

b : a superior especially in merit or rank was respectful of his betters

2 : advantage, victory get the better of her

better

auxiliary verb

Definition of better (Entry 5 of 5)

: had better (see better entry 3 sense 1b) you better hurry

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Phrases Containing better Learn More About better

Synonyms & Antonyms for better

Synonyms: Verb

Synonyms: Adverb

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Noun

Choose the Right Synonym for better

Verb

improve, better, help, ameliorate mean to make more acceptable or to bring nearer a standard. improve and better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad. measures to further improve the quality of medical care immigrants hoping to better their lot help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement. a coat of paint would help that house ameliorate implies making more tolerable or acceptable conditions that are hard to endure. tried to ameliorate the lives of people in the tenements

Examples of better in a Sentence

Adjective Her second book is better than her first one. This one is no better than that one. She's a better golfer than I am. He's a better singer than he is an actor. He's much better with children now that he's a father himself. The weather is better today than it was yesterday. They came up with a better solution to the problem. Don't you have something better to do than to watch TV all day? Her work wasn't that good at first, but it's getting better. Her work just keeps getting better and better. Verb They are trying to better the lives of working people. He looked forward to bettering his acquaintance with the new neighbors. The team has bettered its chances of winning the championship. She bettered her previous performance. He set a record that has never been equaled or bettered. Adverb “How is she doing in school?” “She did badly at first, but now she's doing much better.” She sings better than I do. He sings better than he acts. “Instead of writing to her, I'm going to visit her in person.” “Even better.” He knows the story much better than you do. Her paintings have become better known in recent years. There's nothing I'd like better than to see you again. Noun They shouldn't treat him that way. He deserves better. be polite to your betters and to your inferiors in equal measure See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective His return couldn’t come at a better time given the stakes the Cavs are up against. — Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 9 Apr. 2022 Gas mileage seemed to be better, as well, over the LX 570 but still wasn’t excellent as our test came in under 19 mpg. — Marc Grasso, Hartford Courant, 8 Apr. 2022 Alcohol use should be no more than moderate, and minimal is probably better still. — Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 8 Apr. 2022 Things are better today, but the city is still considered one of the most segregated in the nation. — James E. Causey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2022 Those communities will now have to hold a second special election — another unplanned expense picked up by taxpayers — where turnout isn’t likely to be much better. — John Myers, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2022 But for Barrymore, who speaks to The Washington Post while folded up on a couch in her CBS Broadcast Center dressing room, the timing couldn’t have been better. — Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2022 The process has become easier in one sense, because our access to information is so much better; and harder, because there are so many more billionaires. — New York Times, 7 Apr. 2022 Basically, there’s no better time to shop all the beauty products on your wishlist or stock up on those must-haves. — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 1 Apr. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb There's a lot of opportunities to better our communication, our transparency, communication of the school with the community. — Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2022 With the new transfer rule, players can now opt to better their situations. — Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2022 Tuesday's tight votes came after Kentucky lawmakers moved the legislation into a different committee and changed who sat on that committee to better its odds of passing. — Morgan Watkins, The Enquirer, 23 Mar. 2022 Tuesday's tight votes came after Kentucky lawmakers moved the legislation into a different committee and changed who sat on that committee to better its odds of passing. — Morgan Watkins, The Courier-Journal, 22 Mar. 2022 The Gratitude Project, featuring stories from real people who have used body gratitude to better themselves, inside and out. — Glenn Garner, PEOPLE.com, 9 Feb. 2022 But a test of greatness is how a team utilizes a lop-sided matchup to better itself or maintain a season-long rhythm. — Ryan Clarke | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 8 Feb. 2022 With a beauty brand that relies on science and technology to perfect its product formulas, Darya Hope Pishevar is creating a forward-thinking company that also hopes to better the planet with environmental and philanthropic initiatives. — Sarah Boyd, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2022 According to Martin, who also spoke Monday in a press conference with WGN9, Cole was a creative child who took initiative to better his life. — People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 16 Feb. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb Law, the sheriff said, is physically doing much better. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 29 Mar. 2022 Is Amed Rosario better prepared for left field this spring? — Joe Noga, cleveland, 29 Mar. 2022 The insights gathered from extended missions can better prepare NASA to send astronauts to the moon and on to Mars, according to the agency. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, 29 Mar. 2022 And things don't seem to be getting any better; in fact, housing costs have sky-rocketed further and record-level inflation is eating away at purchasing power. — Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 29 Mar. 2022 And who better to wear one of his slinky, razor-sharp designs than Liya Kebede? — Vogue, 29 Mar. 2022 The discoveries these observatories make could help researchers better predict destructive space weather and understand how the sun’s cycles impact physical processes here on Earth. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 29 Mar. 2022 In simple words, Artificial General Intelligence involves an ever-growing umbrella of abilities of machines to perform various tasks significantly better than even the brightest of human minds. — Naveen Joshi, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2022 The shots from Pfizer and Moderna have consistently been found to perform better than vaccines using older technology, on different metrics of inducing immunity to the coronavirus. — New York Times, 15 Mar. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun That’s about double the pace of pre-coronavirus times, a surge in part explained by the transition of sports betters into day trading in the absence of live sports. — David Z. Morris, Fortune, 20 May 2020 Setting aside the Escape, each of the other rivals that trailed it to the finish line has a trait or two—be it sportiness, roominess, cargo volume, or feature count—that matches or betters what the CX-5 brings to the fight. — Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 20 Apr. 2020 Seasoned sports betters looking for an easy onboarding into digital gaming are slowly finding their way onto sites that allow betting on sports sims. — Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, 4 Apr. 2020 But every Wednesday in the city, the races are still running and the betters are still betting. — Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, 31 Mar. 2020 Or perhaps at America itself for failing the expectations of our moral betters? — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, 24 Sep. 2019 In many ways the Model 3 also betters established luxury sedans such as the BMW 3 Series. — Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2020 Beamon’s leap of 29 feet and 2 1-2 inches betters the mark by one foot, 9 3-4 inches. — Paul Montella, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2019 As with many other arrangements, the content industry took up with Facebook on the promise of a simpler life—the knotty grot-work of reach and revenue would be handed over to our betters. — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 31 Dec. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Auxiliary verb Rarely in investing is there the opportunity to invest in a project that has the potential to better your community and infuse the local economy with new jobs. — Bob Mangat, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022 Nor would OneWeb likely want to enrich the company trying to better its own satellite network. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 2 Mar. 2022 The Gratitude Project, featuring stories from real people who have used body gratitude to better themselves, inside and out. — Glenn Garner, PEOPLE.com, 9 Feb. 2022 According to Martin, who also spoke Monday in a press conference with WGN9, Cole was a creative child who took initiative to better his life. — People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 16 Feb. 2022 The national bronze medalist is the only skater to have beaten teammate Nathan Chen this season, and was hoping to better his sixth-place finish at the last Olympics in 2018. — Alice Park, Time, 7 Feb. 2022 Russell Westbrook came over, patted James on the top of the head and Davis on the shoulder, trying to better the situation. — Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2022 But a test of greatness is how a team utilizes a lop-sided matchup to better itself or maintain a season-long rhythm. — Ryan Clarke | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 8 Feb. 2022 Buddy does his math homework with his grandfather (Ciaran Hinds) who teaches him a trick or two to better his grade. — Shalini Dore, Variety, 24 Jan. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'better.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of better

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adverb

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Auxiliary verb

1817, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for better

Adjective

Middle English betere, bettere, bettre, better, going back to Old English betera, betra, bettra, going back to Germanic *batizōn (whence also Old Frisian betera, betra, Old Saxon betara, Old High German bezziro, Old Icelandic betri, Gothic batiza), comparative degree of an otherwise unattested adjective from a base *bat-, whence also, with lengthened o-grade, *bōtō "improvement," whence Old English bōt "a making good, remedy, improvement, atonement," Old Frisian bōte "atonement, compensation," Old Saxon bōta "remedy, aid, deliverance," Old High German buoza "amendment, remedy, penance, punishment," Old Icelandic bót "remedy, atonement, compensation," Gothic bota "usefulness, profit"; *bat- perhaps going back to Indo-European *b^hHd-, zero-grade of a root *b^heHd-, whence also Sanskrit bhadráḥ "fortunate, blessed, delightful," Avestan hubaδra- "fortunate" (< *b^hoHd-ro, with loss of H before an unaspirated voiced stop)

Note: As do other European languages, Germanic forms the comparative and superlative degrees of the adjective meaning "good" from a different base than the positive degree; compare good entry 1, best entry 1. This Indo-European etymology follows G. Kroonen, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Brill, 2009), which for the rule of H loss refers to A. Lubotsky, "Gr. pḗgnumi : Skt. pajrá- and loss of laryngeals before mediae in Indo-Iranian," Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft, Band 40 (1981), pp. 133-38. Other opinions, however, are not in favor of the connection, or agnostic. See A.L. Lloyd and O. Springer, Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band 1, s.v. baz, where the history of the etymology is traced. M. Mayrhofer maintained that Sanskrit bhadrá- should rather be connected with bhándate "is praised, receives praise" (see Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen, Band 2 [Heidelberg, 1996], p. 244).

Verb

Middle English betteren, bettren "to improve, remedy, have the advantage," going back to Old English beterian "to improve, make better," going back to Germanic *batizōjan- (whence also Old Frisian beteria, betria "to atone, improve," Old Saxon betaron "to mend," Old High German bezzirōn "to improve, enrich," Old Icelandic betra "to improve"), verbal derivative of *batizōn better entry 1

Note: In English and other Germanic languages this verb has been augmented by re-formation from the comparative adjective. Note that evidence for the English verb is practically non-existent between Old English and ca. 1400.

Adverb

Middle English bettre, betere, derivative of betere better entry 1

Note: This formation replaces early Modern English, Middle English, and Old English bet, the original Germanic adverbial counterpart to better entry 1

Noun

Middle English bettre, betere, going back to Old English betere, noun derivative of betera, betra better entry 1

Auxiliary verb

by ellipsis from had better