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
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
In the coming days, the White House will surely batten down the hatches and try to refocus attention on Biden’s record, which will be a challenge.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2024
On a global scale, Fink is convinced consumers are battening down the hatches.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2023
Jabin Jose and Tomy Peralta, managers at a multifamily construction project, left the site early Tuesday afternoon after battening down the final hatches.
—WSJ, 31 Aug. 2023
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
In the coming days, the White House will surely batten down the hatches and try to refocus attention on Biden’s record, which will be a challenge.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2024
On a global scale, Fink is convinced consumers are battening down the hatches.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2023
Jabin Jose and Tomy Peralta, managers at a multifamily construction project, left the site early Tuesday afternoon after battening down the final hatches.
—WSJ, 31 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'batten down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share