batten down
phrasal verb
battened down; battening down; battens down
1
: to prepare for possible trouble or difficulty
People are battening down in preparation for a fierce storm.
2
: to tie, close, or cover (something) in order to prevent it from moving or becoming damaged
Everything on the ship's deck was battened down.
Examples of batten down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As the ship sank, Japanese forces battened down the British POWs in the holds, leaving them to die.
—
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024
Walt Disney is joining other theme parks including SeaWorld and Universal that are battening down the hatches and readying to close before Hurricane Milton hits Florida.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2024
As Big Bend residents battened down their homes, many saw the ghost of 2018’s Hurricane Michael.
—Heather Hollingsworth and Stephen Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024
The island is battened down ahead of what is expected to be a hard hit from a powerful storm, bringing up to 9 feet of storm surge, a foot of rain and hurricane-force winds.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 3 July 2024
Addressing them and finding a way to batten down the hatches is all well and good in theory; however, putting it into practice is a completely different game, especially for smaller or sole miners.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 18 June 2024
At the center of Kate Douglas’s The Apiary are two MVP performers doing their best to batten down the hatches of both a play and a production that can’t quite find their moorings.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2024
The bottom line: Florida, and other coastal states, should prepare to batten down the hatches when the season begins on June 1.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
So far, the Chinese leadership appears ready to batten down the hatches, ride out the turmoil and focus on long-term bets to control the technologies of the future.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024
Walt Disney is joining other theme parks including SeaWorld and Universal that are battening down the hatches and readying to close before Hurricane Milton hits Florida.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2024
As Big Bend residents battened down their homes, many saw the ghost of 2018’s Hurricane Michael.
—Heather Hollingsworth and Stephen Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2024
The island is battened down ahead of what is expected to be a hard hit from a powerful storm, bringing up to 9 feet of storm surge, a foot of rain and hurricane-force winds.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 3 July 2024
Addressing them and finding a way to batten down the hatches is all well and good in theory; however, putting it into practice is a completely different game, especially for smaller or sole miners.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 18 June 2024
At the center of Kate Douglas’s The Apiary are two MVP performers doing their best to batten down the hatches of both a play and a production that can’t quite find their moorings.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2024
The bottom line: Florida, and other coastal states, should prepare to batten down the hatches when the season begins on June 1.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
So far, the Chinese leadership appears ready to batten down the hatches, ride out the turmoil and focus on long-term bets to control the technologies of the future.
—Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near batten down
Cite this Entry
“Batten down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/batten%20down. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share