/ bætʃ; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a number of people or things that are dealt with as a group :
Each summer a new batch of students tries to find work.
We deliver the goods in batches .
2.
an amount of food, medicine, etc. produced at one time :
a batch of cookies
3.
( computing ) a set of jobs that are processed together on a computer :
to process a batch job
a batch file / program
■ verb
to put things into groups in order to deal with them :
[ vn ]
The service will be improved by batching and sorting enquiries.
[also v ]
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 15th cent. (in the senses process of baking , quantity produced at one baking ): based on an Old English word related to bacan , of Germanic origin. Current senses date from the early 18th cent.