different between better vs rectify
better
English
Pronunciation
- (non-rhotic accents) IPA(key): /?b?t?/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): [?b?t??]
- (General Australian, General New Zealand) IPA(key): [?be??]
- (UK dialects) IPA(key): [?be??]
- (rhotic accents) IPA(key): /?b?t??/
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): [?b???]
- (Ireland) IPA(key): [?b?t??~?b????~?b?t??]
- (Scotland) IPA(key): [?b???~?b????]
- (US)
- Rhymes: -?t?(?)
- Hyphenation: bet?ter
Etymology 1
From Middle English better, bettre, betre, from Old English betera (“better”), from Proto-Germanic *batizô (“better”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?ed-rós, from *b?ed- (“good”). Cognate with Sanskrit ???? (bhadrá, “blessed, fortunate, happy, good”). For Germanic cognates: see Proto-Germanic *batizô. Related to best and battle (“getting better, improving, fruitful, fertile”). Compare also Icelandic batna (“to improve”), bót (“improvement”), German besser. More at batten, boot.
Adjective
better (positive good, adverb well, comparative (humorous) betterer, superlative (humorous) betterest, or (standard) best)
- comparative form of good: more good
- comparative form of well: more well
- Greater in amount or quantity
- 1972, Harvey Andrews, Hey Sandy
- “The air was still with the lonely thrill of 'now the hour is near'
And the smell of sweat was better yet than the awful stench of fear.”
- “The air was still with the lonely thrill of 'now the hour is near'
- 1972, Harvey Andrews, Hey Sandy
Derived terms
Translations
Adverb
better
- comparative form of well: more well
- The engine runs better now that I've given it some oil.
- c. 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act I scene iii[1]:
- I could never better stead thee than now. […]
- 1901, Louis Couperus, Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (translator), Small Souls,
- “I’ve had enough of cycling with you chaps. I can spend my Sundays better than in tormenting cats and quarrelling and fighting.”
- Greater or lesser (whichever is seen as more advantageous), in reference to value, distance, time, etc.
- The top electric vehicles have a range of 300 kilometres or better. (better = greater)
- Only one swimmer finished the race with a time better than two minutes. (better = lesser)
- (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) (colloquial shortening) Had better.
- You better do that if you know what's good for you.
Derived terms
- better the devil you know
- had better
- 'd better
Translations
Noun
better (plural betters)
- An entity, usually animate, deemed superior to another; one who has a claim to precedence; a superior.
- He quickly found Ali his better in the ring.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- Their betters would hardly be found.
Derived terms
- get the better of
Etymology 2
Shortening of had better ('d better)
Verb
better
- (modal, auxiliary verb, colloquial) Had better.
- It's getting late. You better get on home.
Usage notes
- Better in this sense has often been considered an adverb. But it is virtually synonymous with should in We better be going. and with ought to in We better go. Should and ought are auxiliary verbs.
See also
- best
Etymology 3
From Middle English beteren, from Old English beterian, betrian, from Proto-Germanic *batiz?n?. Cognate with West Frisian betterje (“to better”), Dutch beteren (“to better”), German bessern (“to better”), Danish bedre (“to better”), Swedish bättra (“to better”).
Verb
better (third-person singular simple present betters, present participle bettering, simple past and past participle bettered)
- (transitive) To improve.
- 1815, William Wordsworth, From the same (To the Supreme Being)
- Love betters what is best.
- He thought to better his circumstances.
- 1815, William Wordsworth, From the same (To the Supreme Being)
- (intransitive) To become better; to improve.
- This government will better this society
- (transitive) To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- The works of nature do always aim at that which can not be bettered.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- (transitive) To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:improve
Derived terms
- betterer
- betterment
Translations
Etymology 4
Alternate pronunciation of bettor or modern formation from the verb to bet.
Noun
better (plural betters)
- Alternative spelling of bettor
References
- better at OneLook Dictionary Search
- better in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Central Franconian
Alternative forms
- botter, bötter (Eifel)
Etymology
From Old High German bittar
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?bet?/
Adjective
better (masculine bettere, feminine better, comparative betterer, superlative et betterste)
- (most dialects) bitter
- Proverb:
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English betere.
Adjective
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Adverb
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Noun
better
- Alternative form of bettre
Etymology 2
From Old English beterian.
Verb
better
- Alternative form of beteren
Scots
Etymology
From Middle English bettre, from Old English betera, from Proto-Germanic *batizô.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [?b?t?r]
Adjective
better
- comparative degree of guid
Derived terms
Adverb
better (comparative mair better, superlative maist better)
- better
- quite recovered from illness
- more than
Noun
better (uncountable)
- that which is better, something better or superior
Verb
better (third-person singular present betters, present participle betterin, past bettert, past participle bettert)
- to better, improve
West Frisian
Adjective
better
- inflection of goed:
- predicative comparative degree
- indefinite neuter singular comparative degree
better From the web:
- what better way
- what better way than
- what better way than or then
- what better way to start the day
- what better xbox or ps5
- what better than 24
- what better xbox or ps4
rectify
English
Etymology
From Middle English rectifien, from Anglo-Norman rectifiier, rectefier (“to make straight”), from Medieval Latin r?ctific? (“to make right”), from Latin r?ctus (“straight”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /???kt??fa?/
Verb
rectify (third-person singular simple present rectifies, present participle rectifying, simple past and past participle rectified)
- (obsolete, transitive) To heal (an organ or part of the body). [14th-18th c.]
- (transitive) To restore (someone or something) to its proper condition; to straighten out, to set right. [from 16th c.]
- (transitive) To remedy or fix (an undesirable state of affairs, situation etc.). [from 15th c.]
- (transitive, chemistry) To purify or refine (a substance) by distillation. [from 15th c.]
- (transitive) To correct or amend (a mistake, defect etc.). [from 16th c.]
- (transitive, now rare) To correct (someone who is mistaken). [from 16th c.]
- 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.3:
- For thus their Sense informeth them, and herein their Reason cannot Rectifie them; and therefore hopelessly continuing in mistakes, they live and die in their absurdities […]
- 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.3:
- (transitive, geodesy, historical) To adjust (a globe or sundial) to prepare for the solution of a proposed problem. [from 16th c.]
- (transitive, electronics) To convert (alternating current) into direct current. [from 19th c.]
- (transitive, mathematics) To determine the length of a curve included between two limits.
- (transitive) To produce (as factitious gin or brandy) by redistilling bad wines or strong spirits (whisky, rum, etc.) with flavourings.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:repair
Derived terms
Translations
Anagrams
- certify, cretify
rectify From the web:
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- what rectify mean in arabic
- rectify what happened to hannah
- rectify what happened to teddy
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