different between fritter vs critter

English

Etymology

From Old French friture.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?f??t?/
• (US) enPR: fr?t??r, IPA^(key): /?f??t?/
• Rhymes: -?t?(r)

Noun

fritter (plural fritters)

1. A dish made by deep-frying food coated in batter.
2. A fragment; a shred; a small piece.

   • And cut whole giants into fritters.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

fritter (third-person singular simple present fritters, present participle frittering, simple past and past participle frittered)

1. (intransitive, often with about, around, or away) To squander or waste time, money, or other resources; e.g. occupy oneself idly or without clear purpose, to tinker with an unimportant part of a project, to dally, sometimes as a form of procrastination.

   I was supposed to do work, but I frittered around all afternoon.

   He can’t figure out how to finish the paper he’s writing, so he’s resorted to frittering with the fonts.

   It is quite possible to fritter one's life away in answer to the endless calls of others.

2. (transitive) To sinter.
3. (transitive) To cut (meat etc.) into small pieces for frying.
4. (transitive) To break into small pieces or fragments.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• tempura

French

Verb

fritter

1. (transitive) to fritter / sinter

Conjugation

Further reading

• “fritter” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

First attested 1815, from a dialectal pronunciation of creature.

Pronunciation

• (General American) enPR: kr?t??r IPA^(key): /?k??t?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k??t?/
• Rhymes: -?t?(?)
• Hyphenation: crit?ter

Noun

critter (plural critters)

1. (usually endearing) A creature, an animal.

Coordinate terms

• beastie

Translations