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Frittered

 - 3 dictionary results

frit⋅ter

1  [frit-er]
Use Frittered in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to squander or disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usually fol. by away): to fritter away one's money; to fritter away an afternoon.
2. to break or tear into small pieces or shreds.
–verb (used without object)
3. to dwindle, shrink, degenerate, etc. (often fol. by away): to watch one's fortune fritter away.
4. to separate or break into fragments: a plastic material having a tendency to fritter.
–noun
5. a small piece, fragment, or shred.
Origin:
1720–30; earlier fitter, deriv. of fit (OE fitt) a part

Related forms:
frit⋅ter⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. dissipate, frivol away, idle away.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Frittered
frit·ter 1   (frĭt'ər)   
tr.v.   frit·tered, frit·ter·ing, frit·ters

  1. To reduce or squander little by little: frittered his inheritance away. See Synonyms at waste.

  2. To break, tear, or cut into bits; shred.


[Probably from fritter, fragment, probably alteration of fitters, from fitter, to break into small pieces.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fritter  (v.)
"whittle away," 1728, from fritters "fragment or shred," possibly alteration of 16c. fitters "fragments or pieces," perhaps ultimately from O.Fr. fraiture "a breaking," from L. fractura.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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