butter
Americannoun
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butter
plural
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the fatty portion of milk, separating as a soft whitish or yellowish solid when milk or cream is agitated or churned.
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this substance, processed for cooking and table use.
-
any of various other soft spreads for bread.
apple butter; peanut butter.
-
any of various substances of butterlike consistency, as various metallic chlorides, and certain vegetable oils solid at ordinary temperatures.
verb (used with object)
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butters,
present (3rd person singular)
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buttered,
past participle, past
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buttering
present participle
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to put butter on or in; spread or grease with butter.
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to apply a liquefied bonding material to (a piece or area), as mortar to a course of bricks.
-
Metalworking. to cover (edges to be welded together) with a preliminary surface of the weld metal.
verb phrase
noun
-
-
an edible fatty whitish-yellow solid made from cream by churning, for cooking and table use
-
( as modifier )
butter icing
-
-
any substance with a butter-like consistency, such as peanut butter or vegetable butter
-
to look innocent, although probably not so
verb
-
to put butter on or in
-
to flatter
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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buttersimple
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butterssimple
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have butteredperfect
-
has butteredperfect
-
am butteringprogressive
-
are butteringprogressive
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is butteringprogressive
-
have been butteringperfect progressive
-
has been butteringperfect progressive
Past
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butteredsimple
-
had butteredperfect
-
was butteringprogressive
-
were butteringprogressive
-
had been butteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of butter
before 1000; Middle English; Old English butere < Latin būtȳrum < Greek boútȳron
Explanation
Butter is a creamy spread made from milk fat. Your favorite breakfast might be hot toast slathered with butter. The process of making butter involves churning cream until the fats coagulate and become creamy and pale yellow. Butter is sometimes salted, and usually formed into sticks for cooks to use in frying, baking, and spreading on corn on the cob and baked goods. To do this is to butter your bread. The Greek root word is boutyron, literally "cow cheese," from bous, "cow."
Vocabulary lists containing butter
Yellow
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Dutch peanut butter artwork proves to be a sticky attraction.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
The father-of-one said he liked to start the day with a big breakfast - egg, fish and vegetables "fired up" in Shetland butter.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Instead, I’ve been looking at plane tickets, researching heart failure and ordering groceries that, at first, didn’t make much sense together: zucchini, canned pumpkin, chocolate chunks, sticks of cold salted butter.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
There was the play in which freshman defensive end Luke Wafle ran through two Spartans blockers like a hot knife through butter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
“Don’t fly away. I’ll fix you peanut butter and jelly.”
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
I love salty, earthy, nutty and bittersweet toppings, like nut butters, funky cheeses and dark chocolate.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
She writes his speeches, manages his appointments and butters up an important colleague with the gift of a ceramic pig.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Influencers fill aisles in search of trendy nut butters and overpriced salads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
This countertop infusion machine manages every step — drying, decarboxylation, infusion — so you can turn out oils, butters, honeys, and more with reliable results.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2025
Mrs. Shainmark takes a scone and passes the plate to Mama, then butters her pastry with the thick cream.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Zoo officials made the announcement in a recent Instagram post that included a video of the little mammals known for their distinct scent of buttered popcorn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Within minutes, the batter was ready, poured between buttered pans and thrown into the oven.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
Top them on warm, buttered toast for a hearty breakfast or on pizza for a kick of umami.
From Salon ● May 1, 2026
Charity Angél Dawson, who has performed in Broadway productions of “Waitress” and “Chicago,” buttered up the crowd between renditions of songs popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
“So how much is a buttered roll and a juice?”
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
“It felt a little bit like he was buttering us up,” Brockman testified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026
Before Musk decided to exit OpenAI, Brockman described his attempts to gain more control over the company, an effort that included "buttering up" Brockman and another co-founder, Ilya Sutskever.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
Besides, Colby has long displayed a knack for buttering up his superiors.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2025
He also wasn’t shy about scolding dining companions who committed such sins as buttering their bread or not eating all their vegetables.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025
“Come on. A guy like Adam going to a Yo-Yo Ma concert? He was buttering you up.”
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
