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bread and butter
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noun
bread spread with butter.
a basic means of support; source of livelihood; sustenance: The automobile industry is the bread and butter of many Detroiters.
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Origin of bread and butter
First recorded in 1620–30
Words nearby bread and butter
Other definitions for bread and butter (2 of 2)
bread-and-butter
[ bred-n-buht-er ]
/ ˈbrɛd nˈbʌt ər /
adjective
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.
of or relating to basic needs: housing and other bread-and-butter political issues.
basic or everyday; staple; routine.
expressing thanks for hospitality: a bread-and-butter letter.
Origin of bread-and-butter
First recorded in 1720–30; adj. use of noun phrase bread and butter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bread and butter in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for bread and butter
bread and butter
/ informal /
noun
(modifier) a means of support or subsistence; livelihoodthe inheritance was their bread and butter
bread-and-butter
- providing a basic means of subsistencea bread-and-butter job
- solid, reliable, or practicala bread-and-butter player
- expressing gratitude, as for hospitality (esp in the phrase bread-and-butter letter)
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with bread and butter
bread and butter
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]
Means of livelihood, as in John's job is the family's bread and butter. [First half of 1700s]
Ordinary, routine, as in Don't worry about it; this is just a bread and butter assignment. [Second half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.