Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Showing results for "better"
Search instead for zettelte.
Definitions

better

[bet-er] / ˈbɛt ər /


ADJECTIVE
larger
Synonyms
Antonyms
WEAK






Usage

What are other ways to say improve? To better is to improve conditions which, though not bad, are unsatisfying: to better an attempt, oneself (as by gaining a higher salary). Improve usually implies remedying a lack or a felt need: to improve a process, oneself (as by gaining more knowledge). The more formal verb ameliorate implies improving oppressive, unjust, or difficult conditions: to ameliorate working conditions.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Erewhon, which opened as a pop-up about a week later also elicited excitement and some griping, with critics saying the space would be better served by a less expensive option.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

A coalition of seven business and retirement-industry groups argues that plaintiffs should have to plead comparators that are “actually comparable,” not just any fund that happened to do better.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Want to get better, or simply get started?

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Elazar Advisors analyst Chaim Siegel told MarketWatch that Micron has seen memory-chip pricing hold up “a little better than expected.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

“Yes. I need a distraction. Can you think of a better one than a party?”

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Now, 12 years and many political lifetimes later, they read as quaint and out-of-touch, like a grandfather telling his grandson to never contradict his betters.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

That’s a sign that betters don’t see the feud with the U.S. as slowing an IPO.

From Barron's ● Jun. 13, 2026

His betters resented Duchamp’s attempt at depicting movement and judged the title vulgar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

This week: Polymarket teamed up with the Golden Globes, displaying a live ticker for betters on the broadcast.

From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2026

An anonymous message from Ambrose telling me to mind my betters.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Brighton managed 10 clean sheets last season, bettered by only six teams.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The 19-year-old bettered the world record set by Australia's Kaylee McKeown three years ago by 0.23secs in her semi-final.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Among NL pitchers with at least 70 innings, his ERA is bettered only by Misiorowski.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Against Morocco, he was only bettered by an extra 369 metres from Lewis Ferguson.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

These improvements bettered the quality of everything ranging from radios, to television sets, to small electronic calculators, yet the agency hadn’t done a good job of explaining these benefits to the public.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

I humbly decline your request and actually would love to have a space where everyone is allowed to ask questions pertaining to bettering their understanding of their clients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

She said Chinese biotechs have “gotten very good with pretty-well-known targets—in bettering them, in really getting more precise.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

And not to the exclusion of bettering their lives by paying attention to the nitty and the gritty, like making housing and higher education more readily available and, yes, fixing potholes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2026

Since 1 February, Forest have conceded 46 goals in the Premier League, with only Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool bettering them.

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025

The other day, when the Pickled Onion was pestering me about my grammar and vocabulary and bettering myself, she asked me what I aspired to in this life.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan




Vocabulary lists containing better


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training