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• butler
  butler

  noun

  the chief male servant of a household, usually in charge of serving food, the care of silverware, etc.
• Butler
  Butler

  noun

  Benjamin Franklin, 1818–93, U.S. politician and a Union general in the Civil War.

butler

¹ American  

[buht-ler] / ˈbʌt lər /

noun

• butlers
  plural

1. the chief male servant of a household, usually in charge of serving food, the care of silverware, etc.

2. a male servant having charge of the wines and liquors.

3. a tray or other receptacle used to serve drinks or food.

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verb (used with object)

1. to serve (drinks, hors d’oeuvres, etc.) by walking around among guests.

   Our waitstaff will butler cocktails on silver trays. The butlered appetizers are all gluten-free.

Butler ² American  

[buht-ler] / ˈbʌt lər /

noun

1. Benjamin Franklin, 1818–93, U.S. politician and a Union general in the Civil War.

2. Joseph, 1692–1752, English bishop, theologian, and author.

3. Nicholas Murray, 1862–1947, U.S. educator: president of Columbia University 1902–45; Nobel Peace Prize 1931.

4. Pierce, 1866–1939, U.S. jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1923–39.

5. Samuel, 1612–80, English poet.

6. Samuel, 1835–1902, English novelist, essayist, and satirist.

7. Smedley Darlington 1881–1940, U.S. Marine Corps general.

8. a city in W Pennsylvania.

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Butler ¹ British  

/ ˈbʌtlə /

noun

1. Joseph . 1692–1752, English bishop and theologian, author of Analogy of Religion (1736)

2. Josephine ( Elizabeth ). 1828–1906, British social reformer, noted esp for her campaigns against state regulation of prostitution

3. Reg , full name Reginald Cotterell Butler . 1913–81, British metal sculptor; his works include The Unknown Political Prisoner (1953)

4. R ( ichard ) A ( usten ), Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, known as Rab Butler . 1902–82, British Conservative politician: Chancellor of the Exchequer (1951–55); Home Secretary (1957–62); Foreign Secretary (1963–64)

5. Samuel . 1612–80, English poet and satirist; author of Hudibras (1663–78)

6. Samuel . 1835–1902, British novelist, noted for his satirical work Erewhon (1872) and his autobiographical novel The Way of All Flesh (1903)

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butler ² British  

/ ˈbʌtlə /

noun

1. the male servant of a household in charge of the wines, table, etc: usually the head servant

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• butlership
  noun
• underbutler
  noun
• butlerlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• butlers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of butler

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English buteler, from Anglo-French butuiller, Old French bouteillier, from Medieval Latin butticulārius, derivative of butticula ; see bottle ¹, -er ², -ier ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

butler Butler butlers

Ismael Camenforte Lopez, described in Germany as his manager's "ball butler", is known for feeding balls into training matches, allowing sessions to be played at a high tempo.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

"We arrange everything for them: flowers, candles, photographer, dinner with a private butler," said Melanie Tessier, its guest relations manager.

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

The idea of having a friendly robot butler that can do all the dull duties of running a home has existed for decades.

From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026

Getting human-shaped robots into warehouses or industrial sites to move boxes is one thing, he said; building a robot butler is beyond the industry’s current capabilities, with current robots too unreliable to perform complex tasks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

Far off, the butler switched on his Hoover.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

“It makes you want to go watch the movie,” said Butler, a longtime Los Angeles resident.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

“If you don’t have a car crash, or your house doesn’t burn down, you don’t get your premiums back later in life. What you do get is protection and peace of mind,” Butler added.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

On a recent Sunday in Tuskegee, parishioners gathered outside Butler Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, grappling with the Supreme Court ruling and their future in the district.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Soon after, they’d hear of proposed projects in Butler and Clinton Counties and encounter local and state officials who they felt weren’t listening.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Instead, everyone was staring at Principal Butler, who was still holding the microphone.

From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon

The investor story is not robot butlers or science-fiction spectacle — it is production costs.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026

For something like robot butlers, the market is farther off, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

They have music playing and very snazzily dressed butlers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025

Some offer "ski butlers" to ferry guests to and from the slopes, carry the skis, and even help put on their boots.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2025

It was not at all certain, then, how he would fare against the younger breed of highly professionalized butlers looking for posts.

From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro