abut

[ uh-buht ]

/ əˈbʌt /

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.

RELATED WORDS

adjoin, join, neighbor

Nearby words

abundantly, abury, abusage, abuse, abusive, abut, abutilon, abutment, abuttal, abuttals, abutter

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 forms

un·a·but·ting, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for abutted

The cottage that abutted on the churchyard was empty, and no other house stood near.
Howards End|E. M. Forster
Opening the door that abutted on to a field beyond, he bade Hogan mount.
The Tavern Knight|Rafael Sabatini
He walked down the avenue to its rear wall, only to find that it abutted against the wall of the next building.
The Film of Fear|Arnold Fredericks
The canvas strip was very narrow, and as my shoulders were not, they abutted on each side, courting the cold.
Prisoner for Blasphemy|G. W. [George William] Foote

He vanished behind a laburnum, and appeared again clambering over a fence that abutted on the open down.
The Invisible Man|H. G. Wells

British Dictionary definitions for abutted

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