fritter
1
[ frit-er ]
/ ˈfrɪt ər /
verb (used with object)
to squander or disperse piecemeal; waste little by little (usually followed by away): to fritter away one's money; to fritter away an afternoon.
to break or tear into small pieces or shreds.
verb (used without object)
to dwindle, shrink, degenerate, etc. (often followed by away): to watch one's fortune fritter away.
to separate or break into fragments: a plastic material having a tendency to fritter.
noun
a small piece, fragment, or shred.
Origin of fritter
1
1720–30; earlier
fitter, derivative of
fit (Old English
fitt) a part
OTHER WORDS FROM fritter
frit·ter·er, noun un·frit·tered, adjectiveWords nearby fritter
frith,
frithstool,
fritillaria,
fritillary,
frittata,
fritter,
fritter away,
fritto misto,
fritz,
friuli,
friuli-venezia giulia
British Dictionary definitions for fritter away (1 of 2)
fritter
1
/ (ˈfrɪtə) /
verb (tr)
(usually foll by away)
to waste or squander
to fritter away time
to break or tear into small pieces; shred
noun
a small piece; shred
Derived forms of fritter
fritterer, nounWord Origin for fritter
C18: probably from obsolete
fitter to break into small pieces, ultimately from Old English
fitt a piece
British Dictionary definitions for fritter away (2 of 2)
fritter
2
/ (ˈfrɪtə) /
noun
a piece of food, such as apple or clam, that is dipped in batter and fried in deep fat
Word Origin for fritter
C14: from Old French
friture, from Latin
frictus fried, roasted, from
frīgere to fry, parch
Idioms and Phrases with fritter away
fritter away
Squander or waste little by little; wear down gradually. For example, She frittered away her salary on odds and ends and saved nothing. This expression was first recorded in Alexander Pope's Dunciad (1728): “How prologues into prefaces decay, And these to notes are fritter'd quite away.”