Standard Lemma guide

fatten

verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈfætən/
  • [ˈfæʔn̩]
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ætən
  • CMU ARPABET: F AE1 T AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To cause (a person or animal) to be fat or fatter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • We must fatten the turkey in time for Thanksgiving.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To become fat or fatter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • He gradually fattened in the five years after getting married.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: gain weight, put on weight

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To make thick or thicker (often something containing paper, especially money).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To become thick or thicker.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To make (soil) fertile and fruitful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • to fatten land
  • 1612, Joseph Hall, Contemplations vpon the Principall Passages of the Holie Storie, London: Sa. Macham, Volume 1, Book 4, p. 333, As the riuer of Nilus was to Egypt in steed of heauen to moisten and fatten the earth; so their confidence was more in it then in heauen;

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: enrich

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To become fertile and fruitful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

make fat or plump

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • We will plump out that poor starving child

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fat, flesh out, fill out, plump, plump out, fatten out, fatten up

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

History

Etymology

From fat + -en.

Across languages

Translations

131 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: trrash maj (gheg) — to cause to be fatter
  • Arabic: سَمَّنَ (sammana) — to cause to be fatter
  • Arabic: أَسْمَنَ (ʔasmana) — to cause to be fatter
  • Bulgarian: гоя (goja) — to cause to be fatter
  • Bulgarian: угоявам (ugojavam) — to cause to be fatter
  • Bulgarian: угоя (ugoja) — to cause to be fatter
  • Catalan: engreixar — to cause to be fatter
  • Czech: vykrmit — to cause to be fatter
  • Czech: vykrmovat — to cause to be fatter
  • Dutch: vetmesten — to cause to be fatter
  • Egyptian: w-S-A-G42 (wšꜣ) — to cause to be fatter
  • Estonian: nuumama — to cause to be fatter
  • Estonian: rammustama — to cause to be fatter
  • Finnish: lihottaa — to cause to be fatter
  • French: engraisser — to cause to be fatter
  • Galician: engordar — to cause to be fatter
  • Galician: cebar — to cause to be fatter
  • Galician: encaldar — to cause to be fatter
  • German: mästen — to cause to be fatter
  • Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (aljan) — to cause to be fatter
  • Greek: παχαίνω (pachaíno) — to cause to be fatter
  • Greek: χοντραίνω (chontraíno) — to cause to be fatter
  • Ancient Greek: σιτεύω (siteúō) — to cause to be fatter
  • Ancient Greek: πιαίνω (piaínō) — to cause to be fatter
  • Ancient Greek: παχύνω (pakhúnō) — to cause to be fatter
  • Hungarian: hizlal — to cause to be fatter
  • Ido: grasigar — to cause to be fatter
  • Indonesian: menggemukkan — to cause to be fatter
  • Irish: beathaigh — to cause to be fatter
  • Irish: ramhraigh — to cause to be fatter
  • Italian: ingrassare — to cause to be fatter
  • Korean: 살찌우다 (saljjiuda) — to cause to be fatter
  • Latin: sagīnō — to cause to be fatter
  • Latin: farciō — to cause to be fatter
  • Macedonian: дебели (debeli) — to cause to be fatter
  • Māori: whakamōmona — to cause to be fatter
  • Occitan: engraissar — to cause to be fatter
  • Old English: mæstan — to cause to be fatter
  • Polish: tuczyć — to cause to be fatter
  • Polish: utuczyć — to cause to be fatter
  • Portuguese: engordar — to cause to be fatter
  • Portuguese: cevar — to cause to be fatter
  • Romanian: îngrășa — to cause to be fatter
  • Russian: отка́рмливать (otkármlivatʹ) — to cause to be fatter
  • Russian: откорми́ть (otkormítʹ) — to cause to be fatter
  • Lower Sorbian: kjarmiś — to cause to be fatter
  • Spanish: engordar — to cause to be fatter
  • Swedish: göda — to cause to be fatter
  • Turkish: semirtmek — to cause to be fatter
  • Turkish: şişmanlatmak — to cause to be fatter
  • Turkish: beslemek — to cause to be fatter
  • Ukrainian: відгодо́вувати (vidhodóvuvaty) — to cause to be fatter
  • Ukrainian: відгодува́ти (vidhoduváty) — to cause to be fatter
  • Uyghur: ئەتلەندۈرمەك (etlendürmek) — to cause to be fatter
  • Vietnamese: vỗ béo — to cause to be fatter
  • Albanian: trash — to become fatter
  • Albanian: aj — to become fatter
  • Arabic: سَمِنَ (samina) — to become fatter
  • Aromanian: ngrash — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: дебелея (debeleja) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: надебелявам (nadebeljavam) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: надебелея (nadebeleja) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: пълнея (pǎlneja) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: напълнявам (napǎlnjavam) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: напълнея (napǎlneja) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: затлъстявам (zatlǎstjavam) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: затлъстея (zatlǎsteja) — to become fatter
  • Catalan: engreixar-se — to become fatter
  • Czech: ztloustnout — to become fatter
  • Czech: tloustnout — to become fatter
  • Czech: přibrat — to become fatter
  • Czech: přibírat — to become fatter
  • Dalmatian: engrassur — to become fatter
  • Dutch: verdikken — to become fatter
  • Dutch: vervetten — to become fatter
  • Dutch: uitzetten — to become fatter
  • Estonian: rasvuma — to become fatter
  • Estonian: tüsenema — to become fatter
  • Finnish: lihoa — to become fatter
  • Finnish: lihota — to become fatter
  • French: grossir — to become fatter
  • Galician: engordar — to become fatter
  • German: dick werden — to become fatter
  • German: dicker werden — to become fatter
  • German: fett werden — to become fatter
  • German: sich mästen — to become fatter
  • German: zunehmen — to become fatter
  • Greek: παχαίνω (pachaíno) — to become fatter
  • Greek: χοντραίνω (chontraíno) — to become fatter
  • Hungarian: hízik — to become fatter
  • Ingrian: lihhoa — to become fatter
  • Ingrian: lihoittua — to become fatter
  • Irish: ramhraigh — to become fatter
  • Irish: tit chun feola — to become fatter
  • Irish: tit chun meáchain — to become fatter
  • Italian: ingrassare — to become fatter
  • Japanese: 太る (futoru) — to become fatter
  • Korean: 살찌다 (saljjida) — to become fatter
  • Polish: tyć — to become fatter
  • Polish: utyć — to become fatter
  • Portuguese: engordar — to become fatter
  • Romanian: se îngrășa — to become fatter
  • Russian: толсте́ть (tolstétʹ) — to become fatter
  • Russian: потолсте́ть (potolstétʹ) — to become fatter
  • Russian: жире́ть (žirétʹ) — to become fatter
  • Russian: разжире́ть (razžirétʹ) — to become fatter
  • Lower Sorbian: kjarmiś se — to become fatter
  • Spanish: cebarse — to become fatter
  • Spanish: engordar — to become fatter
  • Swedish: tjockna — to become fatter
  • Tagalog: tumaba — to become fatter
  • Turkish: kilo almak — to become fatter
  • Turkish: semirmek — to become fatter
  • Turkish: yağlanmak — to become fatter
  • Turkish: beslemek — to become fatter
  • Turkish: yağ bağlamak — to become fatter
  • Turkish: etlenmek — to become fatter
  • Turkish: şişmanlamak — to become fatter
  • Turkish: semizlemek — to become fatter
  • Turkish: semizlenmek — to become fatter
  • Ottoman Turkish: سمرمك (semirmek) — to become fatter
  • Ottoman Turkish: سمیزلنمك (semizlenmek) — to become fatter
  • Uyghur: ئەتلەنمەك (etlenmek) — to become fatter
  • Uyghur: سەمرىمەك (semrimek) — to become fatter
  • Uyghur: ئەت قونماق (et qonmaq) — to become fatter
  • Bulgarian: удебелявам (udebeljavam) — to make thick or thicker
  • Bulgarian: удебеля (udebelja) — to make thick or thicker
  • Bulgarian: надебелявам (nadebeljavam) — to become thick or thicker
  • Bulgarian: надебелея (nadebeleja) — to become thick or thicker
  • Bulgarian: обогатявам (obogatjavam) — to make soil fertile and fruitful
  • Bulgarian: обогатя (obogatja) — to make soil fertile and fruitful