Word.ws English Dictionary

batton

batton is the archaic spelling of batten.

batton is the archaic spelling of baton.

Meaning of batten

Noun

batten (plural battens)

  1. A plank or strip of wood, or several of such strips arranged side by side, used in construction to hold members of a structure together, to provide a fixing point, to strengthen, or to prevent warping.
  2. (specifically) A strip of wood holding a number of lamps; especially (theater), one used for illuminating a stage; (by extension, also attributive) a long bar, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system and used to support curtains, scenery, etc.
  3. (specifically) A long, narrow strip, originally of wood but now also of fibreglass, metal, etc., used for various purposes aboard a ship; especially one attached to a mast or spar for protection, one holding down the edge of a tarpaulin covering a hatch to prevent water from entering the hatch, one inserted in a pocket sewn on a sail to keep it flat, or one from which a hammock is suspended.
    • The next morning, we took the battens from the hatches, and opened the ship.1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., chapter XXIX, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC, page 326
  4. (specifically) The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
    Synonyms:
    beater, lathe

See all 16 meanings of batten

Meaning of baton

Noun

baton (plural batons)

  1. A staff or truncheon, used for various purposes.
  2. A ceremonial staff of a field marshal or a similar high-ranking military office.
  3. The stick of a conductor in musical performances.
    • The conductor raised his baton and the orchestra fell silent.
  4. An object transferred by runners in a relay race.
    • In the relay race, the runner dropped the baton.
  5. A rod twirled in a marching band's performance, in a gymnastic sport, or in juggling.
  6. (US) A short stout club used primarily by policemen.
    • The police officer carried a baton for self-defense.

See all 11 meanings of baton

Proper noun capitalized: Batton

Batton (plural Battons)

  1. A surname.

Forms of batton

Noun
pluralbattons
Proper noun
pluralBattons

Questions about batton

What does batton mean?
Batton means a surname.
What is batton the archaic spelling of?
Batton is the archaic spelling of batten.
What part of speech is batton?
Batton is a proper noun.

Words near batton in the dictionary

  1. battologize
  2. battologized
  3. battologizes
  4. battologizing
  5. battology
  6. batton
  7. battons
  8. Battowia
  9. Battramsley
  10. battri ting
  11. battri tings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: batton (page history and authors); Batton (page history and authors); batten (page history and authors); baton (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “batton.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/batton. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.