Word.ws English Dictionary

in fine fettle

Syllables: in fine fet·tle/ɪn ˌfaɪn ˈfɛtl̩/US/ɪn ˌfaɪn ˈfɛt(ə)l/

in fine fettle prepositional phrase: in good condition; energetic, fit.

Prepositional phrase

  1. In good condition; energetic, fit.
    • Tortoise: [Y]ou're looking in very fine fettle these days, I must say.
      Achilles: Thank you very much.1979, Douglas Hofstadter, “Crab Canon”, in Gödel, Escher, Bach, →ISBN, page 199
    • I did not ask her age, and of course neither should you, but my grandma turned 102 this week and she's in fine fettle, so it's possible it will happen in my lifetime. But we digress.2025 May 3, Katie Martin, “Investors shrink US exposure as America becomes a riskier bet”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 20
    Synonyms:
    fit as a fiddle

in fine fettle meaning in Kannada

in fine fettle in Kannada

ಉತ್ತಮ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿ

Synonyms of in fine fettle

Origin of in fine fettle

From in + fine (“of superior quality”) + fettle (“state of physical condition”). Fettle is derived from Late Middle English fetlen (“(verb) to bestow; to fix, prepare, put in place; to prepare (oneself) for battle, gird up; to shape; to be about to, or to ready (oneself), to stay; (adjective) shaped (well or poorly)”) [and other forms], possibly from Old English fetel (“belt, girdle, fettle”), from Proto-Germanic *fatilaz; further etymology unknown.

Words that rhyme with in fine fettle

Questions about in fine fettle

What does in fine fettle mean?
In fine fettle means in good condition; energetic, fit.
What is in fine fettle in Kannada?
In fine fettle in Kannada is ಉತ್ತಮ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ, ಚಟುವಟಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿ. See In fine fettle meaning in Kannada.
What part of speech is in fine fettle?
In fine fettle is a prepositional phrase.
How do you pronounce in fine fettle?
In fine fettle is pronounced /ɪn ˌfaɪn ˈfɛtl̩/ (UK).

Words near in fine fettle in the dictionary

  1. in fief
  2. in fighting trim
  3. in finality
  4. in fine
  5. in fine feather
  6. in fine fettle
  7. in fits and starts
  8. in flagrant delict
  9. in flagrante
  10. in flagrante delicto
  11. in flagranti delicto

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: in fine fettle (page history and authors); in fine fettle (Kannada Wiktionary) (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-in fine fettle.wav.

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