Better

How to spell better

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce better

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does better mean?

1. adjectiveOf higher quality, more suitable, or more desirable than something else.
2. adverbIn a more effective, skilful, or satisfactory way.
3. verbTo improve on or surpass a previous achievement or standard.

Better in a sentence

• adjective

  The second hotel was far better than the first.

• adverb

  She sleeps better after switching off her phone at night.

• verb

  He trained for months hoping to better his personal record.

• adjective

  A better camera would improve the quality of her videos.

• adverb

  The team performed better once they had practised the new system.

• verb

  The company wants to better its safety standards this year.

Where does better come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is one of the oldest words in English, going right back to the Old English betera, the comparative form meaning 'good in a higher degree'. It belongs to an irregular set in which 'good', 'better' and 'best' come from completely different roots, a pattern called suppletion that English shares with several other Germanic languages such as German (gut, besser, best). The underlying Germanic root carried a sense of advantage or improvement rather than simple goodness, which is why 'better' still leans toward the idea of surpassing something. The double 't' has been stable for centuries and reflects the short, stressed vowel before it, so the trap most adults face is simply remembering to write both t's rather than one. The same family also gives us 'best' and the old phrase 'to get the better of', meaning to gain the advantage.

How the word is built

• bett- (comparative stem related to Old English betera, 'good in a higher degree')
• -er (comparative suffix)