Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- In a more excellent way or manner: as, to behave better; the land is better cultivated and the government better administered.
- In a superior degree: as, to know a man better than some one else knows him.
- More, without any idea of superior excellence: as, it is better than a mile to the town.
- noun One who lays bets or wagers. Also
bettor . - To make better; improve; ameliorate; increase the good qualities of; as, manure betters land; discipline may better the morals.
- To improve upon; surpass; exceed; outdo.
- To advance the interest of; support; give advantage to.
- Synonyms Amend, Improve, Better, etc. (see
amend ), meliorate, promote. - To grow better; become better; improve: as, his condition is bettering.
- As comparative of good: Of superior quality or excellence, whether personal, physical, mental, moral, or social, essential or acquired: as, he is a better man than his brother; better times are at hand; a better position.
- Of superior value, use, fitness, acceptableness, etc.; more profitable or suitable for a purpose; more useful, eligible, or desirable: as, copper is a better conductor than iron.
- Larger; greater: as, the better part of a day was spent in shopping.
- As comparative of well: More in accordance with one's wish or desire; more satisfactory.
- More healthy; having sounder health.
- More just, right, or proper.
- To be quite well again; be fully recovered.
- noun That which has superior excellence; that which is better.
- noun A superior; one who has a claim to precedence on account of rank, age, merit, skill, power, or office: as, give place to your betters.
- noun Advantage; superiority; victory: chiefly in the phrases to get, gain, or have the better of (a person or thing).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Advantage, superiority, or victory; -- usually with of.
- noun One who has a claim to precedence; a superior, as in merit, social standing, etc.; -- usually in the plural.
- noun in the way of improvement; so as to produce improvement.
- intransitive verb To become better; to improve.
- noun One who bets or lays a wager.
- adjective Having good qualities in a greater degree than another.
- adjective Preferable in regard to rank, value, use, fitness, acceptableness, safety, or in any other respect.
- adjective Greater in amount; larger; more.
- adjective Improved in health; less affected with disease.
- adjective More advanced; more perfect.
- adjective See under
All , adv. - adjective an expression used to designate one's wife.
- adjective to be in a better condition.
- adjective (See under
Had ). - In a superior or more excellent manner; with more skill and wisdom, courage, virtue, advantage, or success.
- More correctly or thoroughly.
- In a higher or greater degree; more.
- colloq. More, in reference to value, distance, time, etc..
- to have a more favorable opinion of any one.
- to reconsider and alter one's decision.
- transitive verb To improve or ameliorate; to increase the good qualities of.
- transitive verb To improve the condition of, morally, physically, financially, socially, or otherwise.
- transitive verb To surpass in excellence; to exceed; to excel.
- transitive verb obsolete To give advantage to; to support; to advance the interest of.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative spelling of
bettor . - adjective
comparative form ofgood orwell : moregood orwell - adverb
comparative form ofwell : morewell - verb transitive To
improve . - verb
Had better . - noun An
entity , usuallyanimate ,deemed superior to another.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (comparative of `good') changed for the better in health or fitness
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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We would do better to say: _more_ is often _better_ , but _most_ is rarely _best_ , especially if we fail to measure everything together, tangible and intangible alike.
Who Loses From Efficiency?, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
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Popper held, that even if a theory t2 with a higher content than a rival theory t1 is subsequently falsified, it can still legitimately be regarded as a better theory than t1, and ˜better™ is here now understood to mean t2 is closer to the truth than t1.
Karl Popper Thornton, Stephen 2009
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Most of the contemporary "political poetry" I've read remain mired in authorial biography (granted, it could be a function of my reading habit) -- they were writ primarily to make the authors feel better (by *feel better*, it includes ranting against abuse).
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Most of the contemporary "political poetry" I've read remain mired in authorial biography (granted, it could be a function of my reading habit) -- they were writ primarily to make the authors feel better (by *feel better*, it includes ranting against abuse).
Archive 2007-10-01 2007
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People are better than their creeds, and, it should seem, sometimes _better_ than _their_ principles.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348 Various
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Were they, after all, with all their muddy color and uncertain composition, better -- actually _better_, in the fundamentals that count, than those two glorified forms that ruled the room?
The Genius Margaret Horton Potter
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Bright knew his Englishmen better than Lowell did, better than England did.
Eccentricity (1863) 1918
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The idealists planned and strove and shouted that their city should become a better, better, and better cityand what they meant, when they used the word better, was more prosperous, and the core of their idealism was this: The more prosperous my beloved city, the more prosperous beloved I!
Chapter 28 1918
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First, _Know what you want to say_; second, _Say it_; third, _Use your own language_; fourth, _Leave out all the fine passages_; fifth, _A short word is better than a long one_; sixth, _The fewer words, other things being equal, the better_; finally, _Cut it to pieces_.
The Writer, Volume VI, April 1892. A Monthly Magazine to Interest and Help All Literary Workers Various 1904
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"You were Peter Grimm," she said, "before you knew better" -- that's what _they_ call leaving _this_ world -- "_to know better_."
The Return of Peter Grimm David Belasco 1892
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