fattened; fattening
ˈfat-niŋ 
ˈfa-tə-niŋ
1
a
: to make fat, fleshy, or plump
especially
: to feed (an animal) for slaughter
b
: to make more substantial
2
: to make fertile
: to become fat
Examples of fatten in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Collard greens are traditionally cooked with butter and fattening meats like bacon.
—
Christine Mattheis, Health, 30 Mar. 2024
That meant the pasture was poor so the animals couldn’t fatten themselves up before the winter, and herders couldn’t prepare enough hay to see them through.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
Pig butchering — a scam named after the practice of farmers fattening hogs before slaughter — often starts with what appears to be a wrong-number text message.
—Zeke Faux, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024
The con is called pig butchering — so named because victims are likened to hogs, fattened up for slaughter.
—Ken Dilanian, NBC News, 5 Feb. 2024
That no amount of water conservation in the home, on the golf course, or in the swimming pools and fountains of Los Angeles and Las Vegas will make a difference as long as half of the country’s water supply is used to fatten cattle.
—Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2023
The people who fatten their chickens most effectively are paid the most.
—Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2024
That’s six more games for the Huskies to fatten their record and be on pace for an 11th regular-season Big East championship
The best in the Big East was a title that used to belong to Villanova.
—Dan Gelston, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024
The reserve is also an important spot along the Pacific Flyway, a major bird migration route, where seabirds nest in eucalyptus groves and fatten up in the rich estuary habitat.
—Alix Soliman, Hartford Courant, 3 Jan. 2024
Christine Mattheis, Health, 30 Mar. 2024
That meant the pasture was poor so the animals couldn’t fatten themselves up before the winter, and herders couldn’t prepare enough hay to see them through.
—Helen Regan, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024
Pig butchering — a scam named after the practice of farmers fattening hogs before slaughter — often starts with what appears to be a wrong-number text message.
—Zeke Faux, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024
The con is called pig butchering — so named because victims are likened to hogs, fattened up for slaughter.
—Ken Dilanian, NBC News, 5 Feb. 2024
That no amount of water conservation in the home, on the golf course, or in the swimming pools and fountains of Los Angeles and Las Vegas will make a difference as long as half of the country’s water supply is used to fatten cattle.
—Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2023
The people who fatten their chickens most effectively are paid the most.
—Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2024
That’s six more games for the Huskies to fatten their record and be on pace for an 11th regular-season Big East championship
The best in the Big East was a title that used to belong to Villanova.
—Dan Gelston, USA TODAY, 21 Jan. 2024
The reserve is also an important spot along the Pacific Flyway, a major bird migration route, where seabirds nest in eucalyptus groves and fatten up in the rich estuary habitat.
—Alix Soliman, Hartford Courant, 3 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fatten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Fatten.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatten. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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