Jump To:

• butch
  butch
• Butch
  Butch

  noun

  a male given name.

butch

¹ American  

[booch] / bʊtʃ /

noun

1. Slang.

   1. a woman or girl, especially one who is LGBTQ+, who embraces identity markers such as clothing, hairstyle, interests, or behaviors that are associated with traditional expressions of masculinity.

      I settled down with a nice butch and am happily married

   2. a gay man who embraces identity markers that are associated with normative expressions of masculinity.

   3. any person who adopts a masculine appearance, manner, or persona.

2. Informal. butch haircut.

---

adjective

1. Slang.

   1. (of a girl or woman, especially one who is LGBTQ+) having identity markers usually associated with traditional expressions of masculinity.

      This shirt brand is very popular with my butch lesbian friends.

   2. (of a boy or man) decidedly masculine in manner or appearance.

Butch ² American  

[booch] / bʊtʃ /

noun

1. a male given name.

---

butch British  

/ bʊtʃ /

adjective

1. (of a woman or man) markedly or aggressively masculine

---

noun

1. a lesbian who is noticeably masculine

2. a strong rugged man

Etymology

Origin of butch

First recorded in 1940–45; apparently from the proper name

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

butch Butch

There have been, it seems, a thousand flashes in the pan: Beto O’Rourke’s rolled-up shirtsleeves, Anthony Weiner’s city-kid mouthiness, Graham Platner’s stupid little butch mustache.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026

With their flamboyant costumes and choreography, the group became a pop culture phenomenon, targeting disco's large gay audience with camp fantasy characters of butch builders, bikers, cowboys and soldiers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

"My sexuality has no bearing on whether I look girly, or whether I'm butch or whatever I present myself to be," she said.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026

So, is it possible to butch up vegetables?

From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2024

Besides I shouted so las’ dight that I cudd’t talk butch eddy how!”

From Within Prison Walls being a narrative during a week of voluntary confinement in the state prison at Auburn, New York by Thomas Mott Osborne

There are some beauty shots of the city, and then a shot of a Checker cab pulling up to Butch McGuire’s bar on Division Street.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Remember that classic movie moment when Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid can escape capture or death only by jumping off a cliff into a fast-flowing river?

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

The report also highlighted poor engineering and a lack of oversight at Boeing, which helped turn an eight-to-14-day mission into a months-long ordeal for the test pilots, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

Popcorn and movies—as intertwined as Laurel and Hardy, Fred and Ginger, Butch and Sundance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

A short while later a sixth person appeared on the scene, a hunter from Healy named Butch Killian.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• manly
• masculine

---