Bat"ter (băt"t&etilde;r), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Battered (-t&etilde;rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Battering.] [OE. bateren, OF. batre, F. battre, fr. LL. battere, for L. batuere to strike, beat; of unknown origin. Cf. Abate, Bate to abate.]

1. To beat with successive blows; to beat repeatedly and with violence, so as to bruise, shatter, or demolish; as, to batter a wall or rampart.

2. To wear or impair as if by beating or by hard usage. "Each battered jade." Pope.

3. (Metallurgy) To flatten (metal) by hammering, so as to compress it inwardly and spread it outwardly.

Bat"ter, n. [OE. batere, batire; cf. OF. bateure, bature, a beating. See Batter, v. t.] 1. A semi- liquid mixture of several ingredients, as, flour, eggs, milk, etc., beaten together and used in cookery. King.

2. Paste of clay or loam. Holland.

3. (Printing) A bruise on the face of a plate or of type in the form.

Bat"ter, n. A backward slope in the face of a wall or of a bank; receding slope.

Bat"ter, v. i. (Arch.) To slope gently backward.

Bat"ter, n. One who wields a bat; a batsman.

• A beaten mixture of flour and liquid (usually egg and milk), used for baking (e.g. pancakes, cake, or yorkshire pudding) or to coat food (e.g. fish) prior to frying
        To the dismay of his mother, the boy put his finger into the cake batter.
  
• The person who tries to hit the ball in a sport like cricket or baseball
        The first batter hit the ball into the corner for a double.
  
• to hit or strike violently and repeatedly
  
• to coat with batter