# bettering

Pronunciation: say "BET-er-ing" US /ˈbɛɾ.əɹ.ɪŋ/, UK /ˈbɛtʰ.əɹ.ɪŋ/, AUS /ˈbeɾ.əɹ.ɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of better. — present participle and gerund of better
   - Simple: Present participle of better. Use this form for an action of making something better that is happening now.
   - _Bettering one's circumstances often takes years of patient effort._
   - _The committee focused on bettering conditions for factory workers._

## Noun

2. The act or process of making something better in quality, condition, or value; an improvement.
   - Simple: The act of making something better than it was before.
   - _The steady bettering of working conditions raised morale across the factory._
   - _Education contributes to the bettering of society as a whole._

## Origin

From Middle English beterynge, equivalent to "better" combined with the suffix "-ing".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bettering (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).