fatten

verb

fat·​ten ˈfa-tᵊn 

fattened; fattening fa-tə-niŋ 

ˈfat-niŋˈ

transitive verb

1

a

: to make fat, fleshy, or plump

especially : to feed (an animal) for slaughter

b

: to make more substantial

2

: to make fertile

intransitive verb

: to become fat

fattener

ˈfa-tə-nər 

ˈfat-nər

noun

Examples of fatten in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Federal Reserve interest rate policy may be up in the air, but some banks are fattening up the yields offered on certificates of deposit, sending them above 4%. — Darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026

But Commure isn’t just promising to fatten doctors’ wallets with money from insurers. — Casey Ross, STAT, 12 Aug. 2026

Tonight is an excellent opportunity to stop the slide and fatten the season’s profit. — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Nick Underdown, Scotland director for conservation group WildFish, noted that artificially fattening wild trout on commercial fish feed could alter their role as predators within freshwater ecosystems. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1552, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Rhymes for fatten

• batten
• craton
• flatten
• gratin
• gratton
• latin
• lattin
• matin
• paten
• patten
• platen
• ratan

Kids Definition

fatten

verb

fat·​ten ˈfat-ᵊn 

fattened; fattening ˈfat-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to make or become fat

fattener

-(ə-)nər 

noun