fritter

1 of 2

noun

frit·​ter ˈfri-tər How to pronounce fritter (audio)
: a small mass of fried or sautéed batter often containing fruit or meat

fritter

2 of 2

verb

frittered; frittering; fritters

transitive verb

1
: to spend or waste bit by bit, on trifles, or without commensurate return
usually used with away
2
: to break into small fragments
fritterer noun

Examples of fritter in a Sentence

Noun she loves eating corn fritters with maple syrup
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Bean burritos and zucchini fritters are two of her favorites. Allison Aubrey, NPR, 3 Mar. 2024 At 27 Tapas, the hotel’s open-air rooftop bar, try Ceviche 27 (made with the catch of the day, smoked almonds, apple and yellow chiles) or Caper Ceviche (with avocado, corn fritters and its catch-of-the-day leche de tigre supplemented with capers). Johanna Read, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 However, Roy has also added many Latin references, a nod to the destination, like Cubano fritters and octopus a la plancha. Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 25 Dec. 2023 Every Saturday, Alicia would go down to our local donut store, get me a bag of apple fritters. Joelle Goldstein, Peoplemag, 21 Dec. 2023 Cook the fritters until the undersides are browned, about 3 minutes, then carefully turn them and cook until the second sides are nicely browned, for about 2 minutes. Julia Turshen, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 Find the bar there and grab a frozen drink like the Creamsicle, a signature cocktail or ice cold beer to go with sliders, conch fritters or coconut shrimp. Josie Gulliksen, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 After an afternoon of perusing the shops, stop for bites at nearby Johnny Lime, or visit High Tide Bar & Seafood Grill for the island's best conch fritters. Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 27 Nov. 2023 Local restaurants serve up specialty fritters made from conch, a giant sea snail that’s local to the Bahamas. Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024
Verb
The Ravens extended their margin rather than fritter it away. Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 1 Jan. 2024 Meanwhile, party gal Wren is busy smoking, binge drinking and fighting at night, as well as frittering her days away behind the counter at a stationery store (the only clever aspect of her character, who is physically and emotionally stationary in life). Courtney Howard, Variety, 18 Oct. 2023 Worse, her family has moved from Manhattan to New Jersey, leaving behind her beloved grandmother (Kathy Bates, going full Auntie Mame) to fritter her energy on crossword puzzles. Amy Nicholson, Variety, 20 Apr. 2023 The ads cast several of the area’s Republican House candidates as tools of the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, and criticized another for allegedly using his clout as mayor to push his local schools to fritter away money on an ice rink. Robert T. Garrett, Dallas News, 29 Sep. 2020 Don’t fritter away your stalling. Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2021 The few hundred million euros that PSG may fritter away if Mbappe leaves next year for free is just the cost of doing business. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 31 Aug. 2021 That was when the Bulls jumped out to a 19-point lead, only to fritter it away in a span of five minutes as the Clippers went on a 23-4 run. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Feb. 2023 After his first midterm election in 1994, Bill Clinton was seen as a colossal bust — the first Democrat in almost a half-century to fritter away both houses of Congress. Matt Bai, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fritter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English fritour, from Anglo-French friture, from Vulgar Latin *frictura, from Latin frictus, past participle of frigere to roast

Verb

fritter, noun (fragment, shred)

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1728, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fritter was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near fritter

Cite this Entry

“Fritter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fritter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fritter

1 of 2 noun
frit·​ter ˈfrit-ər How to pronounce fritter (audio)
: a small lump of fried batter often containing fruit or meat

fritter

2 of 2 verb
: to spend or use up bit by bit especially on worthless things
usually used with away
frittered away his savings
fritterer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on fritter

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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