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To prepare for possible trouble or difficulty
- : to prepare for possible trouble or difficulty People are battening down in preparation for a fierce storm.
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What does it mean to batten down?
What does batten down the hatches mean?
Where did batten down the hatches come from?
What does Batten mean?
What is a batten used for?
What is the antonym for batten down the hatches?
“Battens of the hatches: Long narrow laths serving by the help of nailing to confine the edges of the tarpaulins, and keep them close down to the sides of the hatchways in bad weather.” The misspellings ‘battern down the hatches’ and ‘baton down the hatches’ are sometimes found in print.
batten down the hatches. To prepare for a challenging situation. While this originated as a nautical phrase, it is now used for any sort of imminent problem. There's a tornado coming—batten down the hatches! My mother-in-law is coming to town this weekend, so I better batten down the hatches.
1. : to prepare for possible trouble or difficulty. People are battening down in preparation for a fierce storm. 2. : to tie, close, or cover (something) in order to prevent it from moving or becoming damaged. Everything on the ship's deck was battened down. Examples of batten down in a Sentence.
Oct 30, 2012 · noun. 1. a. British : a piece of lumber used especially for flooring. b. : a thin narrow strip of lumber used especially to seal or reinforce a joint. 2. : a strip, bar, or support resembling or used similarly to a batten (as in a sail) batten.
To batten down the hatches means to prepare for pending trouble. To batten down the hatches is a nautical term from the early 19th century. When a ship was about to enter rough seas, the captain would order the crew to batten down the hatches.
The phrase “batten down the hatches” is a nautical idiom that has been used for centuries. It refers to securing everything on a ship before a storm, including covering any openings with wooden boards known as battens.
phrasal verb. batten something down. to fix something securely in position with strips of wood. He was busy battening down all the shutters and doors. Questions about grammar and vocabulary? Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.
