better

/ˈbe-tər/

Middle English betere, bettere, bettre, better, going back to Old English betera, betra, bettra, going back to Germanic *batizōn (whence also Old Frisian betera, betra, Old Saxon betara, Old High German bezziro, Old Icelandic betri, Gothic batiza), comparative degree of an otherwise unattested adjective from a base *bat-, whence also, with lengthened o-grade, *bōtō "improvement," whence Old English bōt "a making good, remedy, improvement, atonement," Old Frisian bōte "atonement, compensation," Old Saxon bōta "remedy, aid, deliverance," Old High German buoza "amendment, remedy, penance, punishment," Old Icelandic bót "remedy, atonement, compensation," Gothic bota "usefulness, profit"; *bat- perhaps going back to Indo-European *b{sup}h{/sup}Hd-, zero-grade of a root *b{sup}h{/sup}eHd-, whence also Sanskrit bhadráḥ "fortunate, blessed, delightful," Avestan hubaδra- "fortunate" (< *b{sup}h{/sup}oHd-ro, with loss of H before an unaspirated voiced stop)

adjective

  1. greater than half

  2. improved in health or mental attitude

  3. more attractive, favorable, or commendable

for the better part of an hour

comparative of good

verb

  1. to make better : such, as

  2. to make more tolerable or acceptable

  3. to make more complete or perfect

trying to better the lot of slum dwellers

improve better help ameliorate mean to make more acceptable or to bring nearer a standard. improve and better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad. help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement.

adverb

  1. in a more excellent manner

  2. to greater advantage : preferably

  3. to a higher or greater degree

sings better than I do

some things are better left unsaid