fritter

Etymology

From Old French friture.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɪtə/
• (US) enPR: frĭtʹər, IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɪtɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɪtə(r)

Noun

fritter (plural fritters)

1. A dish made by deep-frying food coated in batter.
2. A fragment; a shred; a small piece.
   • Hudibras

     And cut whole giants into fritters.

Verb

fritter (third-person singular simple present fritters, present participle frittering, simple past and past participle frittered)

1. (intransitive, often with about or around) To occupy oneself idly or without clear purpose, to tinker with an unimportant part of a project, to dally, sometimes as a form of procrastination.

   I was supposed to do work, but I frittered around all afternoon.

   He can’t figure out how to finish the paper he’s writing, so he’s resorted to frittering with the fonts.

   It is quite possible to fritter one's life away in answer to the endless calls of others.

2. (transitive) To sinter.
3. (transitive) To cut (meat etc.) into small pieces for frying.
4. (transitive) To break into small pieces or fragments.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope

     Break all nerves, and fritter all their sense.

See also

• tempura

Verb

fritter

1. (transitive) to fritter / sinter

Further reading

• “fritter” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).