abut

[ uh-buht ]

/ əˈbʌt /

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See synonyms for: abut / abutted / abutting 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.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM abut

un·a·but·ting, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use abut in a sentence

An anti-Semitism that was rare in Ireland took hold in cities where Irish neighborhoods abutted burgeoning Jewish ghettoes.
James Barrett on ‘The Irish Way,’ How the Irish Influenced U.S. Cities|James R. Barrett|March 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The fifth arch abutted on an island which was long, narrow, and in the form of a boat, like all river islands.
The Life of Joan of Arc, Vol. 1 and 2 (of 2)|Anatole France
The passage itself abutted in Dea Flavia's house on one of the small rooms that lay round the triclinium.
"Unto Caesar"|Baroness Emmuska Orczy
As he said this we were passing a house the long whitewashed front of which abutted glimmering on the road.
The Adventures of Harry Revel|Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

His troop drew up in a wide street which abutted on the market-place, at one end of the town-house.
Odd Volume|Various
The west front of St. Andr never was developed, as the church abutted there on the ancient ramparts.
How France Built Her Cathedrals|Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

British Dictionary definitions for abut

abut

/ (əˈbʌt) /

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

abut

Origin of abut

OTHER WORDS FROM abut

Words related to abut

How to use abut in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for abut

Word Origin for abut