abut

[uh-buht]

See more synonyms for abut on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), a·but·ted, a·but·ting.

to be adjacent; touch or join at the edge or border (often followed by on, upon, or against): This piece of land abuts on a street.

verb (used with object), a·but·ted, a·but·ting.

to be adjacent to; border on; end at.
to support by an abutment.

Origin of abut

1425–75; late Middle English < Middle French, Old French abuter touch at one end, verbal derivative of a but to (the) end; see a-⁵, butt²

Related formsun·a·but·ting, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for abut

adjoin, join, neighbor

Examples from the Web for abut

Contemporary Examples of abut

There is some debate about how this will affect clinics that abut sidewalks or public streets.
The Supreme Court Lets Abortion Clinics Protect Themselves
Sally Kohn
June 26, 2014

Historical Examples of abut

With a few exceptions, they are charged with no atmosphere and abut at no climax.
Modernities
Horace Barnett Samuel
I come to talk to you abut M. de Boiscoran, my betrothed, my husband.
Within an Inch of His Life
Emile Gaboriau
Charlie, who came in last, did not abut the door behind him.
Through the Fray
G. A. Henty
The need of some central building, against which these additions may abut, will be felt.
The Ground Plan of the English Parish Church
A. Hamilton Thompson
But he perceived with surprise that the pillar did not abut immediately on the wall, as he had supposed.
With Drake on the Spanish Main
Herbert Strang

British Dictionary definitions for abut

abut

verb abuts, abutting or abutted

(usually foll by on, upon, or against) to adjoin, touch, or border on (something) at one end

Word Origin for abut

C15: from Old French abouter to join at the ends, border on; influenced by abuter to touch at an end, buttress

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for abut

mid-13c., "to end at, to border on," from Old French aboter "join end to end, touch upon" (13c.), from à "to" (see ad-) + bout "end" (see butt (n.3)). Related: Abutted; abutting.