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• bread and butter
  bread and butter

  noun

  bread spread with butter.
• bread-and-butter
  bread-and-butter

  adjective

  providing a livelihood or basic source of income; supplying the basic needs of life.

bread and butter

¹ American  

noun

1. bread spread with butter.

2. a basic means of support; source of livelihood; sustenance.

   The automobile industry is the bread and butter of many Detroiters.

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bread-and-butter ² American  

[bred-n-buht-er] / ˈbrɛd nˈbʌt ər /

adjective

1. providing a livelihood or basic source of income; supplying the basic needs of life.

   a bread-and-butter job; the agency's bread-and-butter account.

2. of or relating to basic needs.

   housing and other bread-and-butter political issues.

3. basic or everyday; staple; routine.

4. expressing thanks for hospitality.

   a bread-and-butter letter.

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bread and butter British  

noun

1. (modifier) a means of support or subsistence; livelihood

   the inheritance was their bread and butter

2. 1. providing a basic means of subsistence

      a bread-and-butter job

   2. solid, reliable, or practical

      a bread-and-butter player

   3. expressing gratitude, as for hospitality (esp in the phrase bread-and-butter letter )

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bread and butter Idioms  

1. The essential, sustaining element, as in The quality of the schools is the bread and butter of town property values . This idiom alludes to a basic food, bread spread with butter. [c. 1700]

2. Means of livelihood, as in John's job is the family's bread and butter . [First half of 1700s]

3. Ordinary, routine, as in Don't worry about it; this is just a bread and butter assignment . [Second half of 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of bread and butter¹

First recorded in 1620–30

Origin of bread-and-butter²

First recorded in 1720–30; adj. use of noun phrase bread and butter

Example Sentences

The company was exploring gate-based models early on, but abandoned those efforts in favor of differentiating itself through its focus on annealing, which has since become its bread and butter.

From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026

These include the Patriot and Thaad systems, which along with other missiles and munitions are the defense companies’ bread and butter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Roach acknowledges the market’s caution, given large language models are now threatening to do what has been the bread and butter of those companies.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026

“History shows it’s bread and butter issues that typically work best,” he said.

From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026

They put on salt-rising bread and butter, bowls of stewed pumpkin, pumpkin pies and dried berry pies and cookies, cheese and honey and pitchers of milk.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder