fritter

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frit·ter 1

 (frĭt′ər)
tr.v. frit·tered, frit·ter·ing, frit·ters
1. To reduce or squander little by little: frittered his inheritance away. See Synonyms at waste.
2. To break, tear, or cut into bits; shred.

[Probably from fritter, fragment, probably alteration of fitters, from fitter, to break into small pieces.]

frit·ter 2

 (frĭt′ər)
n.
A small cake made of batter, often containing fruit, vegetables, or fish, sautéed or deep-fried.

[Middle English friture, from Old French, from Late Latin frīctūra, from Latin frīctus, past participle of frīgere, to roast, fry.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fritter

(ˈfrɪtə)
vb (tr)
1. (usually foll by away) to waste or squander: to fritter away time.
2. to break or tear into small pieces; shred
n
a small piece; shred
[C18: probably from obsolete fitter to break into small pieces, ultimately from Old English fitt a piece]
ˈfritterer n

fritter

(ˈfrɪtə)
n
(Cookery) a piece of food, such as apple or clam, that is dipped in batter and fried in deep fat
[C14: from Old French friture, from Latin frictus fried, roasted, from frīgere to fry, parch]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

frit•ter1

(ˈfrɪt ər)

v.t.
1. to squander or disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usu. fol. by away): to fritter away one's money.
2. to break or tear into small pieces or shreds.
v.i.
3. to dwindle, shrink, degenerate, etc. (often fol. by away): to watch one's fortune fritter away.
4. to separate or break into fragments: a plastic material having a tendency to fritter.
n.
5. a small piece, fragment, or shred.
[1720–30]
frit′ter•er, n.

frit•ter2

(ˈfrɪt ər)

n.
a small cake of fried batter, often containing corn, fruit, or other food.
[1350–1400; Middle English friture, frytour < Old French friture < Late Latin frīctūra a frying = Latin frict(us), past participle of frīgere to fry1 + -ūra -ure]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

fritter


Past participle: frittered
Gerund: frittering

Imperative
fritter
fritter
Present
I fritter
you fritter
he/she/it fritters
we fritter
you fritter
they fritter
Preterite
I frittered
you frittered
he/she/it frittered
we frittered
you frittered
they frittered
Present Continuous
I am frittering
you are frittering
he/she/it is frittering
we are frittering
you are frittering
they are frittering
Present Perfect
I have frittered
you have frittered
he/she/it has frittered
we have frittered
you have frittered
they have frittered
Past Continuous
I was frittering
you were frittering
he/she/it was frittering
we were frittering
you were frittering
they were frittering
Past Perfect
I had frittered
you had frittered
he/she/it had frittered
we had frittered
you had frittered
they had frittered
Future
I will fritter
you will fritter
he/she/it will fritter
we will fritter
you will fritter
they will fritter
Future Perfect
I will have frittered
you will have frittered
he/she/it will have frittered
we will have frittered
you will have frittered
they will have frittered
Future Continuous
I will be frittering
you will be frittering
he/she/it will be frittering
we will be frittering
you will be frittering
they will be frittering
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been frittering
you have been frittering
he/she/it has been frittering
we have been frittering
you have been frittering
they have been frittering
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been frittering
you will have been frittering
he/she/it will have been frittering
we will have been frittering
you will have been frittering
they will have been frittering
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been frittering
you had been frittering
he/she/it had been frittering
we had been frittering
you had been frittering
they had been frittering
Conditional
I would fritter
you would fritter
he/she/it would fritter
we would fritter
you would fritter
they would fritter
Past Conditional
I would have frittered
you would have frittered
he/she/it would have frittered
we would have frittered
you would have frittered
they would have frittered
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.fritter - small quantity of fried batter containing fruit or meat or vegetablesfritter - small quantity of fried batter containing fruit or meat or vegetables
friedcake - small cake in the form of a ring or twist or ball or strip fried in deep fat
apple fritter - fritter containing sliced apple
corn fritter - fritter containing corn or corn kernels
Verb1.fritter - spend frivolously and unwisely; "Fritter away one's inheritance"
ware, squander, consume, waste - spend extravagantly; "waste not, want not"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
يُبَدِّدُ ماله، يُبَعْثِر
promarnit
klatte vækødsle bort
sóa smátt og smátt; bruîla
eikvotiiššvaistytišvaistyti
izšķiest

fritter

1 [ˈfrɪtəʳ] N (Culin) → buñuelo m
corn fritterarepa f (Col, Ven)

fritter

2 [ˈfrɪtəʳ] VT (also fritter away) → malgastar, desperdiciar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fritter

[ˈfrɪtər] nbeignet m
fritter away
vt [+ time, money] → gaspiller
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

fritter

1
vt (Brit: also fritter away) money, timevertun (inf), → vergeuden, verplempern (inf)

fritter

2
n (Cook) → Beignet m, → Schmalzgebackenes nt no plmit Füllung; apple fritterApfelbeignet m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

fritter

[ˈfrɪtəʳ] n (Culin) → frittella
fritter away vt + advsprecare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

fritter

(ˈfritə) verb
(often with away) to throw away or waste gradually. He frittered (away) all his money on gambling.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
In a word, after being tried out, the crisp, shrivelled blubber, now called scraps or fritters, still contains considerable of its unctuous properties.
Among the Dutch whalemen these scraps are called fritters; which, indeed, they greatly resemble, being brown and crisp, and smelling something like old Amsterdam housewives' dough-nuts or oly-cooks, when fresh.
"Not to remember it; but Mac and Steve have, and liked it immensely," answered Archie, thereby causing the two mentioned to neglect Debby's delectable fritters for several minutes, while they cudgelled their brains.
After a velvety oyster soup came shad and cucumbers, then a young broiled turkey with corn fritters, followed by a canvas-back with currant jelly and a celery mayonnaise.
On Sunday mornings she feasted royally on veal chops and pineapple fritters at "Billy's" restaurant, at a cost of twenty-five cents--and tipped the waitress ten cents.
History is in a measure a sacred thing, for it should be true, and where the truth is, there God is; but notwithstanding this, there are some who write and fling books broadcast on the world as if they were fritters."
Our English youth fritters away its time in idleness and pleasure-seeking.
If the Mediterranean, the venerable (and sometimes atrociously ill- tempered) nurse of all navigators, was to rock my youth, the providing of the cradle necessary for that operation was entrusted by Fate to the most casual assemblage of irresponsible young men(all, however, older than myself) that, as if drunk with Provencal sunshine, frittered life away in joyous levity on the model of Balzac's "Histoire des Treize" qualified by a dash of romance DE CAPE ET D'EPEE.
He would answer to "Hi!" or to any loud cry, Such as "Fry me!" or "Fritter my wig!" To "What-you-may-call-um!" or "What-was-his-name!" But especially "Thing-um-a-jig!"
He was unaware of her gaze, and she watched him intently, speculating fancifully about the strange warp of soul that led him, a young man with signal powers, to fritter away his time on the writing of stories and poems foredoomed to mediocrity and failure.
"Don't fritter away the little strength you have left."
"I understand, it was frittered away in satin, precious stones, velvet, and feathers of all sorts and colors.