Nearby Words
verb (used with object)
1.
to squander or disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usually followed 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 followed by away): to watch one's fortune fritter away.
4.
to separate or break into fragments: a plastic material having a tendency to fritter.
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Fritter
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
noun
5.
a small piece, fragment, or shred.
Origin:
1720–30; earlier fitter, derivative of fit (Old English fitt) a part
1720–30; earlier fitter, derivative of fit (Old English fitt) a part
Related forms
frit·ter·er, noun
un·frit·tered, adjective
Synonyms
1. dissipate, frivol away, idle away.
1. dissipate, frivol away, idle away.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
a small cake of batter, sometimes containing corn, fruit, clams, or some other ingredient, fried in deep fat or sautéed.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
fritter
"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.
EXPANDfritter
"fried batter," 1381, from O.Fr. friture "something fried," from L.L. frictura "a frying."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
fritter
any of three types of fried foods. Plain fritters are deep-fried cakes of chou paste or a yeast dough. In a second type bits of meat, seafood, vegetables, or fruit are coated with a batter and deep fried. Small cakes of chopped food in batter, such as corn fritters in the southern United States, are also called fritters.
Learn more about fritter with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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