[frit-er] 
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 5. | a small piece, fragment, or shred. |
| frit·ter 1 (frĭt'ər) tr.v. frit·tered, frit·ter·ing, frit·ters
[Probably from fritter, fragment, probably alteration of fitters, from fitter, to break into small pieces.] |
| frit·ter 2 (frĭt'ər) n. A small cake made of batter, often containing fruit, vegetables, or fish, sautéed or deep-fried. [Middle English friture, from Old French, from Late Latin frīctūra, from Latin frīctus, past participle of frīgere, to roast, fry.] |
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.
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