A thin strip of wood used in construction to hold members of a structure together or to provide a fixing point.
A long strip of wood, metal, fibreglass etc., used for various purposes aboard ship, especially one inserted in a pocket sewn on the sail in order to keep the sail flat.
The movable bar of a loom, which strikes home or closes the threads of a woof.
In stagecraft, a long pipe, usually metal, affixed to the ceiling or fly system in a theater.
To furnish with battens.
To fasten or secure a hatch etc using battens.
To thrive by feeding; grow fat; feed oneself gluttonously.
To fertilize or enrich, as land.
To improve by feeding; fatten; make fat or cause to thrive due to plenteous feeding.
To thrive, prosper, or live in luxury, especially at the expense of others; fare sumptuously.
To gratify a morbid appetite or craving; gloat.
To feed (on); to revel (in).
To become better; improve in condition, especially by feeding.
The hollow part of a curved or bent timber, the convex part of which is the back.
The stomach.
The main curved portion of a knife blade.
The abdomen, especially a fat one.
The part of anything which resembles (either closely or abstractly) the human belly in protuberance or in concavity; often, the fundus (innermost part).
The womb.
The lower fuselage of an airplane.
To swell and become protuberant; to bulge or billow.
To cause to swell out; to fill.
To position one’s belly; to move on one’s belly.