fritter

Everyday

1. A fritter is a piece of fruit, vegetable or meat dipped in batter and fried, like an apple fritter or corn fritter. tree →
2. To fritter away time or money is to waste it little by little on unimportant things. tree →

In the lessons

Food and cooking (UK chip shops sell spam and pineapple fritters; NZ whitebait fritters; Australian potato fritters called scallops in some states). Money lessons: frittering away pocket money. Phrases: fritter away, apple fritter, corn fritters.

Examples

• We had sweetcorn fritters for lunch. tree →
• The apple fritter was warm and sugary. tree →
• Don't fritter away your pocket money on sweets. tree →
• He frittered away the whole afternoon on his phone. tree →
• In New Zealand, whitebait fritters are a treat. tree →
• She saved instead of frittering her money away. tree →

Note

Double t: frittered, frittering. «Fritter away» is always about wasting slowly. In a money problem, small amounts frittered away add up: 50p a day for 7 days = £3.50.